Close to a World BelowImmolation |
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And this is about as close as it gets without actually… being there! And firstly, I'd like to welcome one Andreas Marschall into the realms of the dark… The gifted illustrator, artist of and to the macabre known primarily for his cover art on many of Germany's finest puts the final touches-his last, perhaps-for "Close to a World Below" and all I can say at this point is… suffer the masses! Immolation was bore of fire and through the fire they remain, amongst the darkest and unholiest of performers this side of… Deicide! In fact thematically, there may never be a more blasphemous recording than that which takes place here. Eight unrepentant cuts from a freshly sharpened sword that first began to unleash its omnipresent power over a decade ago, this could well be the sleeper hit of the year for the accursed Death Metal following. While many still remain true to their roots and entirely too narrow minded to ever escape the monotonous abyss they created for themselves, Immolation not only crawled out of that ever deepening hole, they jumped out and set fire to an unsuspecting village that's begun to rot away in a from years of stagnation and decay! "Furthest From the Truth" appears quickly after the carnage already begins with the lyrically impressive "Higher Coward" and deathly defiant "Father, You're not a Father…" and now I'm thinking, just how long will it take before the signs go up and the picketing starts? Aside from the expectancy of a shattered brain, the listener can take refuge in the many timely lead breaks and structural dynamics rather than always the preponderance of death tones, the songs each get their own unique black marks so as to quickly escape any trace of lingering plainness. "Unpardonable Sin's" another prime example with its flood of indifference at the onset and out of time character that causes an already chemically imbalanced brain to wreak further havoc on a delicate nervous system! Expect nothing in the way of necrophobic romance or nightside enchantment… nor a totality of Hell-spawned obliteration where you have to squint just to make it past track two. "Close to a World Below" brings forth a twisted irony in that the longer it plays, the further along it falls, and the closer it is to forcing its will on an above ground modern world that still may be too weak to accept it… Released by Metal Blade Records
GmbH, P.O. Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen, Germany.
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