Death metal bands don’t typically improve as they get older, but New York’s Immolation is a notable exception to the norm. While their first few albums are considered classics of the genre, I think they have actually reached their peak with ‘Atonement’ (2017) and ‘Acts of God’ (2022), on which the band managed to make its ominous-sounding death metal downright creepy in a way that many bands in the scene could learn a lesson or two from. As a result, ‘Descent’ is an album I eagerly anticipated, and it is another thrilling journey into a dark underworld that does not disappoint.

One thing Immolation does exceptionally well is creating an atmosphere without needing to rely on synthesizers or layers of heavily processed guitar sounds. Instead, Robert Vigna and Alex Bouks just smother their listeners with a massive wall of guitars that just sounds unsettling, owing in part to Vigna’s creative and very organic use of dissonance. The fact that the compositions develop in a way that is unconventional, yet easy to follow enhances the foreboding nature of the band’s music, as it consistently keeps the listener on edge. Steve Shalaty’s fantastic drums also add a lot of dynamics to the compositions.

Compared to its two predecessors, ‘Descent’ feels slightly more direct both in terms of compositions and production. The somewhat Gorgutsy avant-gardisms that occasionally popped up on those records have been toned down a bit, making ‘Descent’ slightly more riff-driven. The average tempo also appears to be just a tad higher, though the band still has a very dynamic approach to tempos and time feel changes. Ross Dolan’s deep, yet menacing growl also isn’t as forward in the mix as on its predecessor, almost making it more of an additional instrument than the role vocals – even non-clean ones – usually take on.

Stand-out tracks include the punchy ‘Adversary’, the pounding ‘Host’, the haunting ‘The Ephemeral Curse’, and borderline doomy ‘God’s Last Breath’, which is the most logical continuation of the previous two albums and features some incredible guitar arrangements. The powerful opener ‘These Vengeful Winds’ has its impact enhanced by some riffs that would feel right at home on a black metal album, and the fantastically dynamic closing track is the only song that passes the five-minute mark, owing most of it to its massive and impressive finale. I also really like the haunting instrumental ‘Banished’, which features Vigna playing over piano and strings, as a breather on the album.

Not many death metal bands as creative as Immolation could come up with an album this vicious and listenable, while most bands in the style that sound this aggressive can create an atmosphere the way Immolation does. The band finds itself in an area that I wish Morbid Angel would lean into far more than they actually do, and Immolation has done it multiple times now. And let’s be honest: how many death metal bands that have been around for nearly forty years with band members in their mid-fifties can claim this level of compositional mastery?

Recommended tracks: ‘God’s Last Breath’, ‘Descent’, ‘Adversary’