Immolation Albums Ranked

One of the United States’ most influential death metal group’s, Immolation formed in Yonkers, New York in 1986, and alongside fellow N.Y.C.-area extreme metal agitators Incantation, Mortician, and Suffocation, quickly rose to the fore of the scene. Led by guitarist Robert Vigna and vocalist/bassist Ross Dolan — the band’s sole constant members — Immolation has racked up a string of acclaimed efforts, including Dawn of Possession (1991), Close to a World Below (2000), Unholy Cult (2002), and Atonement (2010), that skillfully balance raw power with technical prowess. The band issued their 11th studio LP, Acts of God, in 2022. Originally dubbed Rigor Mortis, the group first comprised singer/bassist Ross Dolan, guitarists Robert Vigna and Thomas Wilkinson, and drummer Craig Smilowski. After a series of well-received demos, Immolation signed to Roadrunner in 1991 to issue their debut album, Dawn of Possession; a five-year gap (and a move to Metal Blade) preceded the follow-up Here in After. With new drummer Alex Hernandez, the band resurfaced in 1999 with Failure for Gods. Here are all of Immolation albums ranked.

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9. Failures For Gods 

“Another monumental riff and composition monstrosity from the masters of arrangement. Style of Immolation is blending some thoughtful chaos and tense riffs along with complex percussions, which has been expressed proficiently over two decades and Failures for Gods is another fine sample of this wicked formula. How creative and unique a group of people can get with such classic instruments and within the borders of a specific style, answer lies amidst the wreckage that this massive riff attack had left behind.”

8. Here In After 

“I’m not actually a fan of the really angular, arrhythmic stuff that would follow this and cement them as death metal gods that followed this one, but this is the perfect goey middle for me. It’s angular enough to be weird and interesting with quirky grooves I’ve never heard elsewhere, but still classic styled enough to not lose that classic death metal grooving momentum. It’s the best of both worlds and features classic tracks all the way down.”

7. Majesty And Decay 

“Whereas the band’s classic albums Unholy Cult and Close to a World Below are all about crushing, dominating atmosphere not found very often in death metal, I feel like Majesty and Decay is a lot more clean sounding. Immolation takes a very riff oriented turn here and the results are mostly good. For the average death metal fan, this album should be much more accessible. The whole album has a wicked pace to it and the riffs are powerful and menacing. Hopefully this album gets the credit it deserves down the road.”

6. Dawn Of Possession 

“Dawn of Possession is not for the faint of heart. If you’re not into death metal, then this isn’t the place to start. It’s fairly relentlessly suffocating throughout its 42 minute running time. But anyone into bands like Morbid Angel and Gorguts should get this as soon as possible. Highlights are Into Everlasting Fire, Burial Ground and the epic Those Left Behind.”

5. Unholy Cult 

“This album absolutely slays from start to finish. The title track is one of the best, most wonderfully constructed death metal songs ever and Rival The Eminent is one of the coolest and catchiest. Immolation are probably in my top three bands of the genre and this is easily one of their best offerings.”

4. Atonement 

“There’s something to be said about a band’s aesthetic principles and how they tie into the music itself. Whether it be to capture the emotive principles or intellectual underpinnings of an album, a band’s imagery is undoubtedly an intrinsic component of how the music therein affects the listener. On occasion however, it can also signal a change in direction. Such is the case with Immolation and their 2017 release, Atonement. Having abandoned their original logo after the unveiling of their legendary 1996 masterpiece, Here In After, Immolation’s sound took a noted change in direction from the ominously brooding nature of their sophomore effort to a slightly more indulgent and in-your-face modus operandi.”

3. Acts Of God 

“The entire aura of this album was very gloomy and dark. The guitar was very thick and groovy, but technical at times too. Each track ran at about 4 minutes long, making it all very consistent. Consistency is great, but it almost became too similar especially because of the amount of tracks and the length of the album, some filler songs definitely blurred together. The length also made it quite the dense album, which is neither a positive or negative. The lyrics were much more impressive than the typical death metal album, while they spoke on anti-religion it was done maturely and highlighted the religious hypocrites as well as organized religion as a whole. I also thought the album cover conveyed the message nicely and tied it all together.”

2. Kingdom Of Conspiracy 

“Aggressive straight forward death metal, with a very solid sound and very tight playing musicians. Technically good as well, although they keep it rather much to the basics. Yet there are some really brilliant riff and melody combinations, which I have never even heard anything close to. Very strong album, and great production.”

1. Close To A World Below 

“A stunning album, “Close To A World Below” is the most important death metal release post 2000. The album has its own black heart and burning soul, a living and breathing work of art that bears the testimony to the legendary four horsemen of the now so certain apocalypse that together combine to form a force so authoritatively known as Immolation. Yes it is true. Immolation deserve to be called legends and that is not an over statement purely because Immolation is one of those very few bands in the history of extreme metal that have aimed to re-invent themselves after a good number of defining releases and not sound crappy at the end of it all.”