Immolation - Shadows in the Light

IMMOLATION - Shadows in the Light (LISTENABLE - LP 2007)

There's no doubt that Immolation belongs to the best death metal bands in history. Already the fact that they've been active since 1988, so it's been now over 30 years of unstoppable death metal crusade, makes them one of the most unique and longest living bands. And through this time, they recorded ten fantastic albums, without one, which would bring them shame. No fillers, only killers - this is what I call a strong discography. Recently I was in a mood to give an intense listen to "Shadows in the Light", which is 2007's seventh Immolation album. I'm not sure how does this one stand in your Immolation ranking, but I think it's a fuckin excellent record. There are ten amazing songs, and I simply love the atmosphere of this music, its viciousness and kind of evil aura are supreme. 

First and foremost, I think we can say that "Shadows in the Light" is pretty easily listenable record. For death metal, it has fairly clean, but powerful as hell production. Everything sounds brutal and aggressive, but riffage, with some melodic lines makes these songs very memorable and instantly catchy. I absolutely love these riffs, so characteristic for Immolation. It feels quite mesmerizing, due to the riff style and how they loop over and over again, putting you into trance. And then there's commanding, savage voice of Ross Dolan - and it all works so perfectly! There are some faster, more brutal outburts, but most of the album is mid paced, there's even a bit of melodic patterns here and there, so the final balance between all this is absolutely perfect. You won't find even a second of boredom or fillers in these 40 minutes of music.  

Right from the opening song "Hate's Plague" we're hit by ferocious, brute energy, which comes from every sound of the music. Fast parts provide even more fierce power and the effect is simply crushing. You won't be able to sit motionlessly - you will play air drums and bang your skull like a freakin' maniac! As I mentioned, Immolation has very unique guitar riffage, which is mesmerizing, sinister, very tight and dynamic. Such songs like "World Agony", "Hate's Plague" or "Whispering Death" are a great summarise of what Immolation is about and how great quality is this music. I'm personally glad that they simplified it a little, especially when compared to such "Here in After". On "Shadows in the Light" the music feels more straight forward, more relentless and simply better. 

One last thing, which I always like to mention when speaking about Immolation, is how I love the technical aspect of their music. Obviously, this band has its own unique style, but how perfectly they arrange drums into the riffage, how tight it’s been played is beyond impressive. And guitar work is simply exceptional - amazing riffs, fantastic leads and everything played spotlessly. So, "Shadows in the Light" belongs to my favourite Immolation records, even though the competition in their discography is so tough. I cannot imagine a death metal fan, who hasn't got this album in his collection. 

“God will punish you, god will torture you, god will silence you, god will destroy you!” 

Standout tracks: "Hate's Plague", "Passion Kill", "World Agony", "Whispering Death" 

Verdict: 90/100