Artist: Immolation
Country: USA
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2026
You could spend hours discussing Immolation. There are Death Metal fans who aren’t particularly keen on them, and there are people who have been devoted fans since the band’s inception in the late 1980s. Then there are those who prefer the first few albums and religiously stick to them, and fans who embrace the band’s entire body of work. Depending on the type of Death Metal you prefer, all of this is, of course, easy to explain. However, one thing on which both friends and foes will undoubtedly agree is that Immolation have created a unique sound that they have always managed to maintain, and that they are also one of the most consistent bands in Death Metal history – and have been for almost four decades.
In that respect, reviewing a new Immolation album is a somewhat ungrateful task. Not only this article, but all reviews taken together will have virtually no influence on the opinions (as outlined above) of the global Death Metal audience. In a sense, reviews in 2026 are primarily a collective signal that new music has been released, but intuitively that seems to apply even more so to a band like Immolation. Especially if, like me, you’re a bit late with your assessment.
But in today’s rather stale Death Metal scene, it’s vital to emphasise that there are still some absolutely brilliant bands and releases to be found within the genre. This twelfth Immolation album is a prime example of how Death Metal can still deliver virtually flawless quality, even in 2026. That is, if you’re into the Immolation sound. Unless you’re a young fan of Extreme Metal and are still virtually a blank slate, there’s little point in explaining what the Immolation sound is all about.
Although the title could be interpreted differently, it is, on the contrary, most accurate to say that ‘Descent’ fully honours and continues the band’s legacy. There is certainly no decline in quality or musical ingenuity. The interplay between Ross Dolan and Robert Vigna remains as energetic and magical as ever and still leads to that unique and recognisable complexity. The most significant aspect to talk about is the overall production and sound of the ‘Descent’, which is as close to the band’s last two records, ‘Acts Of God’ (2022) and ‘Atonement’ (2017) and pushes them further in a slightly more organic mould. With especially the guitar and drum sound feeling more natural and less digital compared to 2013’s ‘Kingdom Of Conspiracy’, which is arguably the weakest link in their otherwise outstanding discography.
The secret of Immolation’s unique sound for the most part may lie in the fact that both Dolan and Vigna have been playing together for about forty years, their vision and clear musical and personal companionship obviously paid its dividends, but Immolation’s line-up has been quite stable for years now. Although Steve Shalaty is sometimes still seen as “that new drummer”, he is already part of the band since 2003 and debuted on ‘Harnessing Ruin’, one of my personal favourites by them. Also second guitarist Alex Bouks has been part of the band for ten years now and has been close to the band since the very start while being part of Goreaphobia and Incantation as well as Funebrarum. In other words: Immolation is reaping the rewards of its long history and experience, combined with a strong and unwavering vision. ‘Descent’, with its glorious cover artwork, is simply the most recent proof of this; once again, no devoted Death Metal fan will be able to argue with that.
