When Death Metal came to life back in 1983, by the hands of DEATH and the earlier incarnations of MASTER (sorry, but as the members of POSSESSED considered the band as a Thrash Metal band on those day, I prefer to treat them this way, and this isn't an historical conception, just a particular way of seeing the things) in the United States, and with the somber and atmospheric musical sense that CELTIC FROST created in Europe, and putting on the style some raw and brutal influences that come from VENOM and the earlier albums from the Thrash Metal trio from Germany, namely DESTRUCTION, KREATOR and SODOM, the scene of extreme Metal was not the same anymore. It will stay this way, I hope.

Then things changed since that specific moment in Heavy Metal history, and Death Metal evolved to become the most brutal, aggressive and nasty musical form of all times, because nothing can match its aggressiveness and raw sound, or its politically incorrect themes and insights (sorry for some people, but Death Metal is not something for politically correct people in many senses).

Guttural voices, distorted and low tuned guitars and a solid and oppressive rhythmic session became its most known features of the style, as many bands started to use this formula in their personal views. Between the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s, a massive assault took over the Metal world, taking the lessons from the masters and improving the style even more, and the genre never again seemed to be dead and gone (a misconception that happened between 1987 and 1991, because the information we could find were in magazines and fanzines, as no one could think about the internet back in those days). This is the time where Death Metal celebrities as BENEDICTION and BOLT THROWER appeared on England, MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, OBITUARY and CANNIBAL CORPSE founded the famous Florida Death Metal scene, and ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER and UNLEASHED started to conquest extreme Metal fans on Sweden, and on many other countries others bands appeared and ruled supreme (a fine name from Brazil of those days is from SEXTRASH). But one name comes from this same era, and besides it is not known as the previous ones, the North American legendary band IMMOLATION, from Yonkers (New York), deserves a lot of respect from every Metalhead in this world due the time of underground they have on their shoulders, and for excellent masterpieces they released since they started back on the second half of the 80s, when bands had to play and fight for years until they could have a contract with a label and release an album.

So, what can we all expect from "Atonement", their newest album, after all these years of their incessant activity? Of course, you can't ask a veteran like them, with many albums and a consolidated style of playing Death Metal, to change the band's main features just to fit in the new ways that appeared on the genre since they started. You won't find traces of a Jazz music or Progressive Rock technical approaches as you can hear clearly from Technical Death Metal bands; or the defined and tender melodies from Melodic Death Metal groups, nor even the speed and brutality of Brutal Death Metal bands. No, you won't hear these elements in any part of "Atonement", but you'll hear the same traditional Death Metal way they play since a long time ago, and you'll feel the same honesty and brutal insight that we all are used to know since they started with their first and classical album, the famous and infamous "Dawn of Possession". But as well, they are showing the experience and evolution that they gathered for all these years of struggle in the depths of Death Metal underground scene.

The particularly insane guttural vocals and intense bass playing way of the veteran Ross Dolan, along with the sickening riffs and distorted solos from the other veteran Robert Vigna (that helped to forge the band's musical identity with this dissonant harmonies on the guitar riffs), and the brutal and technical hammering of Steve Shalaty on drums are the elements that they fuse to forge their musical identity. And all the songs of the album are true homages to their career, and make "Atonement" one of the finest albums of their career, and one of the best Death Metal albums of the year. Maybe it's one of the best albums of the year as well, if you compare it to other Metal bands from other Metal styles.

"Atonement" was produced and refined by the hands of Paul Orofino (the same musical producer that has a long time partnership with the band, that started on the album "Failures for Gods"), having Zack Ohren making his sound engineering efforts on the mixing and the mastering of the album. The result is really amazing: of course, the sound quality is excellent, with a cautious and professional insight used to sculpt each of the album's songs, to find the best way they could sound. Because of this, you have the notion that it's possible to make songs that sound clear, raw, aggressive and nasty as Death Metal must be, but with an amazing level of sound clarity, even for an album of this particular style. If you think that the raw and oppressive instrumental songs of IMMOLATION were preserved untouched, you'll think that it's something that couldn't exist. But it does exist, my dear nephews and nieces, and it's truly wonderful to hear a sound quality that allows us all to understand every little musical arrangement, every detail in its due place, and of course, we can say that's nothing is missing and nothing was done in excess by the band in its songs.

The artwork for the cover is a great work from Pär Olofsson, evoking again the apocalyptic and antichristian themes of the band's lyrics, and in some sense, it can remind us all of the artworks used for the covers of "Dawn of Possession" and "Here in After", due the presence on an apocalyptic angel figure above a destroyed world (but without the demons, as on the albums I named). Maybe the intention is to create a link with the band's past.

The dissonant harmonies of the guitars along with the rhythmic complexity we are used to hearing on their work are here once more, but the level of brutality is amazing. There's still the contrast of fast and slow moments at an excellent level. But keep in mind: the same old and good traditional Death Metal that we all know from the band's previous work is here, present, bold and brutal. Of course, the sound production sounds modern, because no one can sound in the same way of the past, because it's a fallacy that only empty-minded clones can accept. The anti-Christian lyrics seem to have evolved a lot, and are better elaborated. It's not a set of blasphemies for those who have nothing to say, but statements for those that need a little help to become free.

The album starts with the explosive and destructive song called "The Distorting Light", the is filled with the musical brutality we all are used, showing many broken tempos and a good technical insight can be noted; the tempos are slow in many parts and fast during the guttural explosions of the vocals, but pay attention to the insane guitar riffs and solos (they are really amazing). The bitter and wonderful "When the Jackals Come" shows the same patterns from the previous song, with a chaotic rhythmic mass created by bass guitar and drums, oppressing our ears and minds as the song pass by in a somber evolution. The tempos become even slower on the bitter, nasty and creative "Fostering the Divide", a manifestation of how these guys can create great crescendos with magical touches of musical bitterness due the dissonant harmonies of the guitars (and pay some attention as well to the drumming again). Aggressive and raw as Hell itself, "Rise the Heretics" shows the fast and really brutal side of their musical identity, even having some slow parts where bass guitar creates the due basis for the guitars. Some melodic dissonance can be felt from the ripping guitar riffs of "Thrown to the Fire", where the fast tempos are played without being something exaggerated (as I told you, the speed of their songs is nothing extreme as some actual bands from recent years love to do).

A very good bass guitar playing and drums parts can be heard on "Destructive Currents", a technically simple song in the view of what they do, being straight to our ears, as a furious blow, and how lovely is the vocals interpretation in some moments. Some clean guitars introduces "Lower", another mass murdering Death Metal massacre imposed by the trio, with complex drums technique and excellent vocal parts (who said that guttural voices is only a matter of how resistant your throat can be? It's a form of art to sing in such way), and some traditional sickening solos in the old school way (dissonant and seeming like a guitar being strangled). As all good title songs must be, "Atonement" is bringing some brutal musical arrangements on the guitar riffs once more, and as the song pass for many kinds of tempos (from slow and oppressive to fast and aggressive parts), the bass guitar and drums shows synchronicity and a fabulous amount of musical heavy weight. With some riffs remind SLAYER's influences of the guitar riffs (of course the old school veterans from North American Thrash Metal influenced Death Metal bands from their country, or maybe you must hear their third album, "Reign in Blood", some more times), "Above All" is a power source of aggressive and brutal energy, a fine release of hypnotizing guitars parts and aggressive voices. Be prepared for the mass murdering is not at its end, because the oppressive harmonic lines of the bitter and nasty "The Power of Gods" will rip your ears to shreds of bloody pieces of flesh due the raw aggressiveness of the guitars, something that keeps our attention in their instrumental parts during the entire song. Closing the casket, we have a song in a traditional Death Metal trend, called "Epiphany", where tempos oscillate between slow and oppressive moments and fast and aggressive ones, where the vocals are ominous present, imposing a massacre, but as well, a rain of dissonant riffs and thunderous drums is brutalizing your brain and soul.

As a gift from the band to their old and die-hard fans, at the very end of "Atonement", you'll find a infernal, somber and cruel actualization for their old hymn "Immolation", that was previously presented on their first album, "Dawn of Possession", and is shown here one more time, reinforcing the link I mentioned previously on this review between the band's past and present, obviously respecting the musical features of the first version (seems like a tribute to me), but showing that the band is looking to the future with open bloody eyes, and you find new energy on this song due great guitar parts and excellent filthy guttural grunts, and maybe this version can unite old and new fans of the band under the same bloody and filthy flag.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the album was recorded entirely with IMMOLATION being in a trio format, because Bill Taylor (that was with the band since 2001) left the band before the recording sessions for the album started. But after the album was finished, Alex Bouks (former member of INCANTATION, GOREAPHOBIA, and former MASTER live guitarist as well) joined the band as their new guitarist. So, if you need a Death Metal album to listen to and understand what the whole style is about, with all the elements that can be used, and even from the roots of the genre, maybe "Atonement" can point you the right direction. It also entered my personal list of the best albums of this year.