They’ve experienced various line-up changes in the past and this release is yet again with a new member. This time it’s one of their most powerful ingredients, Alex Hernandez. His unique way of drumming death metal is difficult to recreate I’d say but replacement-basher Steve Shalaty did a pretty good job with that. He really tries to imitate the Immolation style, but he can’t make it really chaotic how it used to sound. That means two things, the first is that a less complex technical album has been made, minor I’d say. But on the other hand it also means that the music becomes a whole lot more accessible, which is a good thing. So there are two sides to that story.

 

The rest of the music is like always very melodic and still quite complex, but I feel like there should have been more riffs that make you feel like banging your head. The melodic parts seem to be emphasized a lot on this record. Their distinctive guitar sound is ideal for that, but a brutal riff every now and then could have made the songs more dynamic. Only  “Son Of Iniquity” has a riff that really gets me excited. The solo’s on the other hand are sublime. They are so unorthodox but match incredibly well with their sound. Up till now I’ve still never heard a death metal band do it this way.

The vocals sound awesome again, there is no better vocalist that I prefer to hear screaming about the true ways of Christianity.

 

Overall it’s still a good Immolation album, just less complex but more accessible for a larger crowd. I still haven’t decided what weighs heavier, I just know that it still sounds like Immolation. And I just hope that they’ll finally be recognized and embraced by the death metal community, ‘cause it’s an awesome band.