A lot of times when I listen to a death metal band they jumble together and sound becomes a mumbled mess of sound. That is not hard to do by any means, person, or musician. But what Immolation does on their 2010 release “Majesty and Decay” is anything but that. Feeding off eachother and letting each member and instrument shine through they create a masterful and tasteful death metal album on par with some of the best of all time.
What stands out the most is drummer Steve Shalaty who has strayed away from the typical blast beat format of what most death metal bands now use. He invokes lots of intricate drum beats and fills throughout the album that help create a massive sense of darkness and brutality. While guitarists Robert Vigna and Bill Taylor provide technical yet simple sounding guitar riffs and solo that only further convey the brutal elements of this album. Bassist and vocalist Ross Dolan growls his way through the album in a way that is highly legible, again somethat that I love in death metal yet a lot of bands don’t use.
Songs such as the title track “Majesty and Decay”, “Divine Code”, and “The Comfort of Cowards” show of lyrical that the band is trully against religion. Good lyrics throughout the entire album though. My personal opnion that death metal has some of the best lyricists in music today.
Rating: 8.5/10
A very solid death metal album, well worth a listen.
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