Article by Daniel Maarat
Immolation’s debut has recently been reissued with the original CD mastering intact for the first time since 1995. Closer to conventional speed metal and lacking the complex polyrhythms and syncopation of their prime material (including the masterful Close to a World Below), the album nevertheless remains an accessible must-listen. That this classic was out of print for over twenty years with even the Polish mafia, probably bootleg slammed remaster going for inflated prices on the secondary market shows just how much the Warner Music Group owned, formerly independent Roadrunner Records has been neglecting their back catalog in favor of pushing nu-metal and Nickelback to a lowest common denominator audience. Hopefully more licensed-out, quality digital reissues will follow as Metal Blade was permitted to handle the recent Mercyful Fate and Sepultura vinyl pressings.
Tags: 1992, dawn of possession, death metal, immolation, listenable records, reissue
One of my very favorites! Not as complex as their later stuff, but it was definitely one of those “brick to the face” moments when I first heard “Into Everlasting Fire” as a teenager.
Have the original cassette pressing that a friend gave to me years ago, I’ve worn out the printing on the tape itself. Not the most complex, but the most effective immolation album and their finest effort imo. Here in after is good too, but I think they got too complex and technical later on. Not approaching the gayness of most tech death bands, but lacking to be memorable like dawn of possession, at least to my ears. I listened to harnessing ruin some years ago and that album about put me to sleep. Listened to a few cuts off close to a world beyond and unholy cult and they were. Perhaps I should give the later Immolation albums I few more listens, but I have found their later works to be overrated from what I’ve heard. They are incredible in a live setting, however.
I’ve been a proud owner of the Polish Mafia edition for the past decade. I think the first half of this album is equal in complexity to the later stuff. The latter half is pretty much all songs from the demos, but still great in its own way.
Yeah for the sure, I love the first half. Second album’s mad heavy but check out Failures for Godz too if you like narrative type shit. Hornz up!
For some unknown reason, Immolation somehow always menaged to slip under everybody’s radar. It seems like the whole scene has been overlooking them ever since that massive fucking silence after their debut, where they collaborated with the fellows chuck, david and heaps of other mad dogz, but just just never got recorded.
Which is very unjust, since their debut album, “Dawn of Possession”, contains some of the most hard, pumping, bass heavy, demented deathmetal I have ever heard. Now, anno 2015, it may not come across as powerful, fist-in-the-air, state of the art party rocking stuff, but I can perfectly recall hearing this album years back and it sure shook my world! I mean: WOW! The first six tracks are all moshpit oriented devestators of the highest order, while the seventh track is a well deserved downtempo number. Considering this was made forteen years ago, one must keep in mind that there wasn’t much else sounding quite like this. This is as good of an example of a brutal clash between black and speed/death as anything.
14? You mean 24.
Hha haha just lost a decade hole holy shit
You’re not very bright, are you?
hhha right and u are?? news flash kid, if you got into metal chances are your childhood was wobbly to begin with , and then ended up heer? reeding anus, taking troll-bait etc well you may as well have flushed the whole thing down the UUC lol
Coming from someone who struggles with their ABC’s and their 123’s. I know elementary school kids who have better grammatical skills than you. You have either done way too many drugs or suffer from having a low IQ, probably a combination of both. I bet you can’t hold a job.
Killer NY style DM. I followed them only up to Failures, but I never knew them to release a turd.
Bro, you need to let Close to a World Below into your life.
Immolation is a paradox. It’s enjoyable when listened to, but when not present, isn’t something one seeks out. I think it may be because of the massive internal similarities between songs.
Immolation is Immolation. They had a winning formula like Bolt Thrower and Sodom and stuck to it for the better.
What do you mean by winning forumula?? their stuff is all over the place/.same band, solid as fuck but different style on every album
Each of the first five albums are structurally different but similar in rhythm riffs. It’s Immolation. Now it’s Machine Head
Albums 1 through 3 are masterpieces of death metal. I don’t find Dawn overly speed metally at all. After Failure for Gods, they started fucking around with groove and cyclical rhythms and dropped that melody-based, lyrical and phrasal approach to riffs they kicked so much ass with.
Dawn of Possession is a giant.
That only worked very well for them on Close to a World Below though. Unholy Cult is a definite step downward and then after Alex Hernandez left, they dived into the toilet bowl.
hell yeaah, there fuckin brutal more like Incantation or something only the floridian scene really got the speedmetal influences. Hons