IMMOLATION – Kingdom of Conspiracy (2013)

Genre: Death metal

Label: Nuclear Blast/Century Media

When I think of Immolation, I think of great albums like Failures for Gods, Shadows in the Light, and Majesty and Decay, the last of which was their most recent album until Kingdom of Conspiracy. Majesty... is a fantastic album, the title track especially notable. Immolation, for me, is synonymous with fantastic death metal. They've got everything, perfect productions, great vocals, good bass, and phenomenal guitar riffs. My obvious question is: what went wrong with Kingdom of Conspiracy? And what's with that abominably stupid album title?

The first track is the title track, “Kingdom of Conspiracy.” Immediately we notice the production is ultra-clear; you can hear every minute detail of the drums, while, oddly, the guitars sound thin and trebley. Everything heard here is uninteresting. In comes track two, “Bound to Order.” It starts off o.k. and then just gets stranger as song wears on. What's more, if I hear another pinch harmonic in this song, I think I'm going to choke someone. 3:20 – finally a good riff. Too bad the song is over... “Keep the Silence” is more like Immolation, yet too simplistic in the beginning riff (one note, over and over). It appears that's all that this song has going for it.

“God Complex,” track four, actually has a cool riff that can get stuck in your head. However, it fades into nothingness like the rest of the song. Track five, “Echoes of Despair,” at first doesn't even sound like Immolation, it sounds almost cheery. And the melodies they use are terrible. The riff at roughly 3:25 isn't so bad, however. Song six, “Indoctrinate,” sounds more like Immolation. Until the slow riff that is. I am only just halfway through the album and already there are approximately 78 times the number of pinch harmonics as on Shadows in the Light. It's become a gimmick. Another terrible song. “The Great Sleep” starts off with a chord high up on the fretboard tremolo strummed, but then leads nowhere. Another forgettable number. I literally could not wait for that song to be over, so I, in fact, turned it. “A Spectacle of Lies” actually has a really cool rhythm riff from 0:28-0:38. Not enough to save what seems like a dud of an album, but cool nonetheless. “Serving Divinity” is terrible from the start. I don't even want to listen to this song. The final song, “All That Awaits Us,” attempts to be interesting at the beginning, but fails miserably. The whole song is just dreadful.

I don't know what happened that caused Immolation to slide so far downhill. The only reason this got a 4 was because the drums were crisp and sounded great, the vocals sounded killer as ever, but that's it. Not recommended. Maybe next time, Immolation.