Dawn of Possession

A marriage of the metronomic quality in the riffs, mixed with good flow between the other parts constitutes a signature mold for Immolation death metal as a formula that would work for a very long time. There's definitely a willingness to challenge all established notions of rhythm; and practically reminiscent of industrial in that regard alone. The blasphemous anguish rings out in a permanent disturbance from start to finish, deeply rooted in every song. The riffs assault through their intentional persistence, reveling in a form of self flagellation, as an isolated chaotic pattern repeats as if to make sense of its incoherence. The squealing, wailing guitars suggest an unbearable existential crisis corroborated by the grueling lows, and the leads add embellishment with an aerial impetus providing elevation over the earth-bound tremblor.

And always that counter-intuitive rhythmic cadence; the image, almost, of an odd early cinema black and white with its glitchy, broken up animation. The harmony work can be on par with the sought out grandeur: the outro on 'Those left behind' and its strange merging of major/almost cheery, and eerie. The groundwork was laid for an act that would influence bands within, and outside the genre - a fact interesting on its own. This isn't the finished product yet and it shows with sections respectable in concept but a bit heavy-handed in practice that don't quite hit home. The inspiration found on this debut is promising but if compared to, say, their later incarnation at the turn of the millennium (the 2000 release 'Close to a World below') this will definitely feel more one-dimensional and same-paced, a tad pale to the more colorful and dynamic rendering from a decade later.

There's an obvious obsession with the divine; the album cover being an explicit representation of spiritual warfare and a glance at the song titles should settle it. As opposed to a Morbid Angel; which, all in all this band shares quite a lot with musically as well as aesthetically; that seemed more interested in creating a fictional world of their own around biblical themes, Immolation seem to be more right there in the guts of it, where it's all happening. The lyrics (and the music by extension) deal more directly with the crux of an affliction born of spiritual longing; critical of established Christianity but unable to pull away from those central narratives, and forever dwelling between the two extremes (depicted by those black and white beings on the cover), incriminating the church and angry with God, while not so much falling into the arms of Satan, which name is barely mentioned at all during the full record. One of the rare times it is mentioned reads "Can't you see it's Satan's world?" suggesting the band are rather in resignation of the world of men, instead of really praising the proverbial dark lord.

The double kicks sound like shit. No transition there, I know. Sorry. But they sound like punching ball/speed bags for boxing being hit frantically. It's 1991, and this isn't exclusive to this album so, cut them some slack, but it's distracting, as a riff will really catch your attention, and then all of a sudden... blrrrblrrrblrrrblrrrrblrrr. Ugh, Rocky Balboa's in the studio again, and boy is he angry. This weird balloony background noise. The toms however are commanding and thick, and nearly as crisp as digital toms, while retaining their organic texture. Also the overheads enrich this brand of mortifying death metal with their own dramatic weight. There was work to be done of course, this being their debut, but a hero of the death metal genre had come to life and had exhibited its imagination, singular as it was fiery... or perhaps even hellish.

In continuation from my review of Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten", we're gonna be checking out another death metal band from New York called Immolation. Beginning in the mid-80s with a different name, Immolation would release plenty of demos before finally releasing their debut album "Dawn of Possession" in 1991. While it might not be as brutal or technical as Suffocation's debut, This album did became a major influence for the old-school death metal scene at the time, as it took the sounds of previous death metal records and put its own spin to it.

Let's start off with the instruments. As far as old-school death metal went in the early 90s, this is easily one of the best in the instrumental department. The guitar riffs are very raw and dirty in sound, and its simple, but maddening riff composition brings in an atmosphere of darkness and evil. The drumming is also very remarkable, as the fast beating of Craig Smilowski further adds in the chaotic tone of the tracks. The bass, however, is a bit average, as it holds up a good foundation, but doesn't do anything unique. Otherwise, the instrumentals on this album is mainly great, especially in the track "Those Left Behind". Being one of their signature songs, this song especially works well with the dark atmosphere at the beginning with its droning riffs adding in tension to the mood before eventually moving to some more intense riffing that sounds amazing. Other great highlights of the album would be in the tracks "Into Everlasting Fire", "Dawn of Possession", and "Fall in Disease". Practically every instrumental on this album is great, and it would go on to inspire many old-school death metal bands in the future.

The vocals, however, do take a bit getting used to. Ross Dolan does the vocals on here, and I'll admit that I was initially put off by his unusual vocal style. Unlike most other death metal vocalists at the time, whom used deep growls, Ross does add in some crackles to his growls, which makes his voice sound a little odd. However, once you get used to it, you'll find that it can be very strong in the flow, and "After My Prayers" is especially great at this. Being one of the longest tracks on this album, the overall atmosphere is more agonizing and terrifying, and Ross's vocals reflect this well with his cackling of the terrible afterlife. His overall delivery of the track is fitting to the instruments as they only further enhance the messy and fierce production of the album. While his vocals may be weird for those who are used to deep growls, those who do get past the weirdness can find some great vocal performances.

Even the lyrics are fantastic. Immolation's always had some great lyrical moments, but their debut is where their songwriting is at its peak. Take the lyrics to "Internal Decadence" for example, where this verse quotes:

Submit to parasitic thoughts drown in a mental haze
Extraction from reality feelings now devoured
Dimension in hell rotting mind wastes away
Desire life fade away suffer endlessly...

This verse is about someone being forced to endure mental deterioration of the brain. The description of the whole ordeal is very detailed, as it reinforces the agonizing pain of the torment. As for the more spiritual lyrics like in "Despondent Souls", they're just as strong with the link between the dead and the health of soul go hand-to-hand with the pain of an unwell soul feeling especially painful. These lyrics also flow well with the instrumentals and vocals, as the booming mess of the instruments add in to the madness of the stories, and Ross's cackles give them more of a sinister view. The stories told in these songs are done well, and would be very fitting to this specific type of death metal.

As far as death metal albums in 1991 went, this, along with "Effigy of the Forgotten", are one of my all-time favorites of that year. The instrumentals are intense and blast with pride, the odd execution of the vocals only further add to the creepiness of the atmosphere, and the lyrics tell some graphic and gruesome stories about the mind and afterlife. When it comes to some outrageous old-school death metal from the early 90s, you can't go wrong with some Dawn of Possession.

Immolation is a band which needs no introduction. Their brand of technical and hellish death metal captivates many. Debut albums are a total risk for fresh bands, but Immolation prove that they are far from novices with this crushing offering from 1991. Some would say Dawn of Possession isn't their best, as their even more ambitious follow up album, Here in After, and what some say is their modern classic, Close to a World Below, are both available for fans to sink their teeth into. But from my perspective, bands can have multiple 10/10 albums which rock for different reasons. The tightly controlled chaos Immolation serves up on Dawn of Possession is refined, streamlined, and catchy as hell. For these reasons, individual songs are also very memorable, and that's a quality which is very important for an album's longevity.

Robert Vigna and Tom Wilkinson serve up wild, somewhat untraditional death metal guitar riffs over interesting and furious drum beats from Craig Smilowski. I wouldn't call this music progressive but they utilize odd time signatures with strange yet unbelievably heavy, incredibly effective rhythmic interplay between the guitars and drums. The groove of the band is very important, the drumming and guitars often fall into very threatening, lumbering slow parts with short bursts of frantic tremolo picking. Smilowski acts almost as a third guitar player at times, summoning forth many awesome fills and flourishes. The drums are also a bit looser on here than they are on Here in After, giving it a more authentic feel.

The music here is a type of death metal which has evolved a lot from thrash, but the Slayer influence does shine through in Immolation's dissonant, tremolo-picked fast parts, which are quite interesting and packed with technical prowess from all members. Immolation also employs what I would call "breakdowns" between the more technical parts. These more simple, shambling hooks and refrains (usually in 4/4) glue the chaos together and give the listener an opportunity to groove along with the music. It's an aspect which isn't quite missing from their later albums, but it's one I believe was lessened in favor of more ambitious songwriting (though they have brought them back as of late). Personally, I find there's a balance to be had between ambition and catchiness, and Dawn of Possession rides that line just right.

Ross Dolan growls in a bit of a higher register than their later albums and he mostly growls one "note" if you wanna call it that. The juxtaposition of Dolan's static growls with the controlled chaos of the music actually elevates the experience in my opinion though, instead of being a negative. If Dolan screamed with as much dynamism and intensity as the music, I think everything would be a little bit too chaotic. It helps that most of the lyrics on here are about apostasy and hell. Dolan isn't chanting, but when I listen with the lyrics it's almost as if he's channeling some kind of Satanic power through the music. It's fucking awesome. He would go on to growl deeper and more brutally on later releases, and if you ever get to see them live, it's a treat to hear these Dawn of Possession songs with his newer, deeper technique. His bass performance doesn't deviate too much from the guitars from what I can tell (since in order to even hear it, I have to be using surround sound), but since the riffs are pretty technical, he's doing a great job. All of these parts seem pretty hard to play, so even though the bass doesn't shine all too much, the performance is still quite impressive.

I'm going to pick and choose a couple standout moments here, because I can go on and on about why this album as a whole is great. The intro riff to No Forgiveness Without Bloodshed is a killer moment, and while it's not one of those catchy 4/4 sections I referred to earlier, it is quite catchy in its own right. In fact, most songs (especially the first three) have a great intro riff to draw the listener in. There's a section in Into Everlasting Fire which consists of 3 measures in 6/4 time, i.e., they literally put 666 into their song musically. Who does that? In a sense, it's almost like backmasking Satanic voices into the song. Once you know about a little detail like this, it absolutely bolsters the whole "descent into hell" feel of the album. As for bare recommendations, I'll laud the first three tracks as particularly amazing, as well as Those Left Behind for its doomy church bell usage, and finally the nearly perfect closer, Immolation. Lastly, if I had to choose one track during which my brain turns off a bit, it's Burial Ground, since it's mostly less spectacular than the other tracks.

This is a classic for a reason. It's hard for me to imagine a death metal fan disliking this, as it simply does nothing wrong. It never sounds phoned in or uninspired and never goes too crazily technical as to lose its soul either. I'll just go ahead and bookend this review by saying Dawn of Possession is a pretty much perfect debut album from a very talented group. Here's to 30 more years of possession!

Created on the ashes of Defcon and Rigor Mortis, Immolation is one of the most important representatives of the twisted and gloomy death metal, whose career developed surprisingly slowly and without such excesses as in a similar format, though not necessarily in style, Morbid Angel, Deicide or Cannibal Corpse. However, this did not prevent it from making their debut with a bang, because after a series of demos, shaping the line-up and polishing their own style, Robert Vigna, Ross Dolan, Tom Wilkinson and Craig Smilowski hit with the album, which, even if it did not (then) made such a big boom as the above-mentioned names, but it got the attention of these greater freaks of extreme music.

As it's easy to deduce from the cover art, "Dawn Of Possession" is a death metal full of heavy, stuffy and gloomy atmosphere, not overly focused on technique (which does not mean that it's banal) or enormous exhilaration (which does not mean that it's light). First of all, the album is really great in terms of riffs (the ones in "Those Left Behind", "Immolation", "Into Everlasting Fire", "After My Prayers" or "No Forgiveness (Without Bloodshed)" knock out!), the aforementioned atmosphere, handling of medium paces (as opposed to blasting, which is missing here) and general ingenuity in terms of solos (well-twisted). Ross's vocal is also nice, which at this stage was not that "deep" yet, and it was closer to...vincenting! Going further, production should be distinguished; on the one hand unbridled and dirty, on the other, full of flesh and quite selective (except for the bass that disappears under the guitars). And finally, the songs themselves, as I have already mentioned, are equally great and absorbing for hours!

"Dawn Of Possession" is only a foretaste of the greatness of Immolation, although already at this stage at an extremely high level and containing ravishing songs. Well, from the perspective of later albums, it's one of their simplest albums, but this does not mean, of course, that "Dawn..." sounds poorly or not very interesting. On the contrary, when it comes to stuffy death metal, Immolation's debut is one of the must-hear in this trend.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2020/11/immolation-dawn-of-possession-1991.html

Immolation is one of the most consistent death metal bands, along with Incantation, Bolt Thrower, and Drawn & Quartered. For nearly two decades now, Immolation has been putting out album after album of quality death metal. This is an especially impressive feat when you consider how hard it must be to compose songs in Immolation’s unique and intricate style. It’s astounding that they’ve been doing this well even since they were amateurs, when they released their 1991 debut, Dawn of Possession. Ironically, the two consistent members of Immolation, Ross Dolan and Robert Vigna, didn't even form the pre-Immolation band, Rigor Mortis. Andrew Sacowicz and Dave Wilkinson formed Rigor Mortis, then recruited Robert Vigna as their guitarist. After changing their name to Immolation, getting Ross Dolan to join, recruiting Neal Boback, they recorded some fantastic demos. Unfortunately, around the time Immolation was about to record Dawn of Possession, Neal Boback felt inadequate and left the band, which was when Craig Smilowski came to replace him. By the time they released Dawn of Possession, Immolation had none of the founding members from Rigor Mortis. Despite all of this, Dawn of Possession ended up being a hell of a debut, and rightfully heralded as an all time classic by death metal fans. Dawn of Possession still holds up today among the best of Immolation's albums, as well as the best that death metal has to offer.

Dawn of Possession is a stand alone album in Immolation's discography. It took five years after Dawn of Possession's release in 1991 for Immolation to release their sophomore effort, Here in After, in 1996. In this time, they evolved their sound quite a lot, which resulted in Here in After being very different from Dawn of Possession in style, songwriting, and tone. Because of this, Dawn of Possession is really the only album like it in Immolation's discography. The closest comparison to be drawn is probably Morbid Angel's debut, Altars of Madness. The raspy, primitive growls and chaotic, technical guitarwork that's much more intricate than their contemporaries are the main similarities between these two albums. Dawn of Possession is technical and fairly dissonant, but much less so than the albums that would follow it. The time in between Dawn of Possession and Here in After allowed Immolation to incorporate more and more dissonance into their sound, which, in turn, also made their music more atmosphere driven. This trend of adding dissonant atmosphere would continue until they hit their peak of dissonance and atmosphere with the albums Close to a World Below and Unholy Cult. I'd argue that the lack of a palpable atmosphere actually works in Dawn of Possession's favor. Rather than being driven by atmosphere, Dawn of Possession is driven by sheer chaos and aggression. Despite not having any blast beats, Dawn of Possession is arguably Immolation's most aggressive album, since it's almost entirely based on being violent and in your face, rather than enveloping the listener in a thick atmosphere. Though most of the album is fast paced, Dawn of Possession never feels monotonous or tiresome. Immolation uses their abstract, unconventional riffing style to create unique mid-tempo riffs and slower dirges, and mix those in appropriately with their blazing fast, frenzied riffs to make Dawn of Possession a consistently entertaining, engaging, subversive, and varied experience.

Immolation’s ability to write strong, cohesive songs also translates into their ability to write cohesive albums. Dawn of Possession's iconic opener, Into Everlasting Fire, starts the album off with a bang; no intro, no slow buildup, no beating around the bush. Four explosive power chords, followed by the rest of that frantic riff, are the perfect way to start the unrelenting assault on the ears that is this album. Following Into Everlasting Fire are Despondent Souls and Dawn of Possession, two of the most straightforward and aggressive songs on the album. The mid-tempo intro of Despondent Souls is an appropriate followup to the climactic end of Into Everlasting Fire. After some build up, Despondent Souls gets back into the face-melting speeds that are present in most of the preceding track, but continues to dip back into mid-tempo territory to keep the track feeling fresh. The title track is the second shortest song on the album, at only a few seconds over three minutes. It’s also the most continuously speedy song on the album, only going anything below extremely fast for a few seconds before getting right back into it. Those Left Behind provides the listener with a bit of a break from the uninterrupted insanity of the first three tracks, by starting off with a slow, ominous intro riff, then slowly speeding up to mid-tempo territory, until finally ending with an eerie dirge. After this, Internal Decadence, also the shortest track on the album, is similar in nature to the title track, but manages to be a bit more varied in its sonic onslaught. The album effectively continues with a similar pattern of using appropriate variation throughout the songs in a fashion that keeps any part of the album from feeling dry or repetitive.

This is, in my opinion, Immolation's most sinister and frightening album. On the albums following Dawn of Possession, Ross Dolan's growls got lower pitched and started sounding more enraged. Though these are great qualities to have, and they do fit well in the later albums, they also ended up making Ross lose the raspy, slithery, utterly evil sound he had on Dawn of Possession. Unlike the similarly raspy vocals delivered by David Vincent on Morbid Angel’s debut, Altars of Madness, Ross’ vocals on Dawn of Possession are very guttural, even despite how primitive and raspy they are. The lyrics on Dawn of Possession are incredibly written, just like every album to come after it. However, the style of blasphemy is a bit different from what would come later. Here in After conveys themes of the immense burden of Christianity and feelings of indifference towards a cruel, unloving God. Close to a World Below is centered around feelings of anger, pain, and betrayal inflicted by said cruel, unloving God on the self-destructive world he created. Rather than making genuine and thought provoking arguments against the futility and toxicity of Christianity like the aforementioned albums, Dawn of Possession keeps it simple for the most part. Blasphemy in a more traditional sense can be cringe-inducing and terrible, like the works of bands like Deicide, or it can be like Dawn of Possession, dark and ominous without being tasteless. There’s not much to read into when it comes to the lyrics on Dawn of Possession, but that doesn’t detract from their quality. The sinister tone created by the lyrics on Dawn of Possession is matched by the instruments. Robert Vigna’s frantic riffing and ominous, wicked solos, and Ross Dolan’s raspy growls at their peak are what make this album what it is, tonally.

Dawn of Possession is an incredible, classic album and it means a lot to me. It was my first Immolation album, the one that got me into them. As soon as I hit play on this album and Into Everlasting Fire started, I knew I found something special. Part of my love for this album comes from the scarcity of it. There’s really no album, not even another Immolation album, that sounds all that close to Dawn of Possession. As one of Immolation’s unique masterpieces, and an all time classic of death metal, Dawn of Possession is an essential album that should have a place in every death metal fan’s collection.

Immolation is often regarded as one of the greatest death metal bands to come out of New York. Immolation are rather consistent band for their genre that manages to keep putting out high-quality albums considering that they made their debut in 1991. Speaking of debut albums, I'm reviewing Dawn of Possession which is the album that made Immolation one of the Big 4 of New York death metal. It's notable for being a mix of old-school and brutal death metal.

And yes, this album is brutal. Album opener "Into Everlasting Fire" shows that Immolation meant business as the music and lyrics picture an apocalypse from a distant future. It's also notable for displaying Immolation's absorption of Florida and Swedish death metal influences. The title track solidifies Dawn of Possession's lyrical focus on darkness as Satan is the main focus of the song. It's also got some rather catchy guitar riffing and a solo that comes out of nowhere. "Internal Decadence" is one of the faster numbers and showcases Immolation's influences from New York hardcore, with prominent evidence of this displayed in some of the more chuggy parts of the song. The closing track, "Immolation" is an iconic number that contains the best one-liner lyrics on Dawn of Possession: "Immolation now begins...". Couple that with the strongest musicianship on the second half of the album and you've got one of the greatest death metal songs ever with the vocals being the high mark within the song.

Despite the name of the final song on Dawn of Possession, all of the musicians on this album are still alive as of this writing. Ross Dolan's death growls are surprisingly deep. His growls don't sound like a typical cookie monster growl but instead have a low-pitch rasp to them, almost like the harsh vocal equivalent of a bass baritone. Puns aside, Dolan's bass playing is also rather audible for a death metal album with "Into Everlasting Fire" being a prime example of this. Craig Smilowski's drum patterns are complex for Dawn of Possession's material as he switches up the tempo during verse, chorus, and instrumental parts. An example of this is "Despondent Souls" where the verse and the chorus parts are low-mid pace while the guitar solo part has Smilowski performing double bass. Robert Vigna and Tom Wilkinson display strong guitar chemistry as the riffs and dissonance in songs like "Those Left Behind" and "No Forgiveness" make Machine Head's guitar synergy look pale in comparison. Their guitar solos on songs like "Burial Ground" and "Fall in Disease" display their virtuosity perfectly.

Guitar solos are not that common in New York death metal as the bands within the scene took more from New York hardcore's chug-style of playing. While Suffocation abused the chugging riffs, Immolation's knack for emphasizing more on guitars make them the winner between the two. I listened to Atonement prior and it got me turned on to older Immolation. Ross Dolan's vocals surely haven't aged between this legendary debut, Dawn of Possession and Atonement. Speaking of it's legendary status, Decibel Magazine actually wanted to put Dawn of Possession into their Hall of Fame but was put aside because of availability conflicts. While Immolation is the least influential of them, Suffocation, and Incantation, they made sure old school death metal was a thing in New York. If you haven't listened to Dawn of Possession once in your lifetime, make sure you hear the dissonant riffs. Your workouts will be 100% better after hearing this masterpiece.

This album right here presented before you is some of the darkest, bleakest, and most haunting death metal ever written. Sure Immolation may have become more technical on their later albums and more punishing, but this album has their darkest and most sinister riffs to date. The album art by Andreas Marschall paints a vivid picture of what this album would sound like before you even listen to it. The very dark imagery of demons overtaking the falling angels behind a dark red background gives off the vibe that this will be a haunting and dark listening experience. When I first heard Immolation the first song I ever heard from them was “Father, You’re Not a Father.” Personally, I thought it was okay nothing special, the riffs just didn't grab my attention even though they were extremely atonal, and dissonant sounding, and the technical drumming that constantly changed time signatures just wasn't my style. Then about a month later I decided to give Immolation another shot. This time I listened to the opening track "Into Everlasting Fire." From then on I was hooked and I just kept listening to that song over and over again. The precise drumming, incredible grooves and ghoul sounding vocals got me hooked, plus that incredibly beautiful cover art whoa there. If you’re going to listen to Immolation for the first time I suggest this album first because their later albums like Close to a World Below and their mid period albums like Here in After and Failures for Gods are just way too difficult for the novice listener to get into. While still not an easy album to get into, Dawn of Possession is far easier than the others because of the more straightforward drumming and heavy grooves present in the songs.

Rob Vigna's and Tom Wilkinson's riffs sound like they came straight from the pits of hell. They are incredibly dark and they contain a great mood to them. For example in songs like "Into Ever Lasting Fire," "Dawn of Possession,” and "Internal Decadence" feature more down tuned thrash riffs while songs like "Despondent Souls, “After My Prayers" and “Those left Behind” feature slower more menacing riffs which are just incredibly dark. Ross Dolan's vocals sound so inhuman on this record. The best way to describe it is he sounds like a ghoul from the underworld. He changed his vocal style on later records because he would have blown out his voice if he continued to sing like this. My favorite part about this record is Craig Smilowski’s drumming though. His drumming is like nothing I've ever heard before in the way he is able to follow the guitars and add unique layers on top of the music to create his own truly unique style of frantic drumming. For example in some passages of the songs he will follow the guitars then he'll throw in some great tom rolls, or cymbal hit, then return to following the guitars in such fluid motions. It doesn't sound awkward at all or out of time and that's what a great drummer does. He adds extra layers to the music and accentuates it rather than holding it back; instead he/she pushes the music forward into unforeseen territories.

While the bass isn't audible due to the very powerful guitars and drum sound, Ross is a formidable bass player and vocalist to keep up with guitar wizards Wilkinson and Vigna. His lyrics are very well written dealing with themes of questioning is there an afterlife? Also displayed are themes of anti-religion, and questioning god’s forgiveness. The solos displayed by Vigna are very twisted and morbid sounding as his solos add extra layers of evil and darkness rather than take away from the music or cause ear pain. Many death metal bands at the time (early 90s) had very good riffs but the soloing was out of key, and just a mess of fast notes played at random with not much structure (ex. Hoffman Brothers from Deicide, early Cannibal Corpse, Altars era Morbid Angel). All of them had ear worm infectious riffs but the soloing I could care less about. Vigna's soloing is incredibly beautiful and dark sounding. His soloing is like nothing I have ever heard before. No one has been able to imitate his style of soloing; it is very individualized and unique to the texture of the music that he plays. Overall a magnificent debut easily one of the greatest metal debuts of all-time. Immolation never had such catchy tunes again, sure they became more accomplished musicians and developed more twisted riffs with more time changes within the music, but they would not capture this feel of darkness or energy again I feel. With the raw power of Smilowski’s drumming, Vigna and Wilkinson's riffs, and Ross's ghoul like growl this I feel is their greatest output. This has their best cover art and it features my favorite logo from them which adds to the darkness of the music presented. Immolation has put out many great records, but this one will stand the test of time even 50 years from now with the dark riffs, vocals, pounding drums, and beautiful artwork. If you haven't heard this record give it a listen, I strongly recommend it.

“…Enthroned upon their praise, dethroned with my disgust, unworthy of your glory you turn your back on me…”

The sky is burning, when the red mixes with the yellow in the horizon, but the closer it is, the blacker and darker it becomes. Divine, white and majestic figures descent from the skies in the great number, beautiful in their long white robes and wings...but from the below an equal number of something more sinister and evil comes with a great speed. The fallen angels; demons, with red eyes, black skin and wings attack the divine mercilessly… none of the sides flee… the war is on.

This is what you can see on the front cover of Immolation’s classic debut album “Dawn of Possession”. I am writing this review, but I believe that everybody who claims to be a death metal maniac has this LP in his collection, as in my honest opinion this album belongs to the most mandatory death metal releases of all time. If you’re into this music you just MUST HAVE such LPs as “Altars of Madness” and “Blessed Are the Sick”, “Scream Bloody Gore” and “Leprosy”, “Left Hand Path” and “Like an Every Flowing Stream”, “Deicide” and “Cause of Death”, plus a couple dozens of albums more which I consider to be eternal, obligatory classics. And “Dawn of Possession” is certainly among them. This LP, released back in 1991, shows a band that managed to distinguish themselves from the rest of scene, but at the same time stayed faithful to its roots and created a 100% pure death metal album. How have they achieved this? Well, I guess a lot of credit must go to Robert Vigna, who turned out to be one of the most talented and skilled death metal guitarists of all time. He has an incredible gift to compose and play riffs, which are almost hypnotizing and possessing (he!) and which may be quite complex and technical, with some twisted solos here and there. But still the effect is beyond imagination and definitely allows me to say that thanks to this guitar maestro who made Immolation have a characteristic, unique sound and style since the inception of the band. And this is something not so common… It is enough to watch this man play on the stage, how he behaves and performs to know he’s not a typical death metal guitar player. And “Dawn of Possession” for sure has some of the best material that he has composed in his career. Those riffs which you’ll find on this album are just gigantic. This is a monolith death metal, a powerful and majestic record. T

Then you have a great drumming from Craig Smilowski, who plays some unique and complicated patterns. His technique is just fantastic. And finally we have Ross Dolan. Well, his bass playing may be totally overshadowed by Vigna’s (and Wilkinson’s) powerful guitar riffing, but if he isn’t one of the most characteristic and vicious death growlers ever, then I will eat my shoes. Damn, he sounds like a beast from the underworld, screaming some unreadable words in the pits, and so netherworldly his voice sounds.

I know that the musicians will always say that their new album is the best, etc, but fans will always have different opinion and quite often (in 99% of cases, hehe??) they’ll say that the first couple of albums are the best. I am the same and even if I have all Immolation releases and like them all, I will always say that “Dawn of Possession” is their best LP and one, which has some of the best songs, which this band recorded and composed. Starting with excellent “Into Everlasting Fire” – a song, which can be played on my funeral if my family will decide to cremate me and which has some utterly excellent riffs, through such anthems as “Those Left Behind” (oh, that amazing opening theme… fuckin' love it!) to the final seconds of “Immolation - “Dawn of Possession” is a complete record, filled with amazing songs, killer riffs and ideas and amazing feeling. It’s also filled with fury and blasphemous, evil atmosphere. I guess not everyone will be instantly hooked by the progressiveness of this album, as in many ways “Dawn of Possession” is not an easy listen. This music is not as straight forward and “catchy” as “Altars of Madness”; those riffs and song structures will sound bizarre in the first impression because of their complexity and frequent rhythm changes (oh, that Smilowski!), but once you listen to it again and again – and you’ll give it repetitive listens, as this music is just possessing – I bet this will all make sense to you and you’ll start catching every part, every riff, and phrase without any problems.

All in all, “Dawn of Possession” is probably the catchiest and easiest to listen to of all Immolation albums anyway, hehe! For example, I think that “Here In After” requires much more attention than the debut and that’s because it is not only based on the complex structures, but Immolation also have more easier and straightforward and more memorable moments, like that opening theme of “Those Left Behind”, which is just incredibly great!

And maybe it is a good thing that this album has to grown on you. I mean I don’t think that I liked it as much back in the early '90s as I do nowadays. Obviously I had it in my collection (on a pirate Polish tape, hehe) and have listened to it, but there were albums that I listened to and liked more like “Leprosy”, for instance. And nowadays I think I can say that I like “Dawn of Possession” more than “Leprosy” (which on the other hand nowadays is slightly boring to me…I guess I just know it too well and I’ve listened to it too many times, hehe!). So, if you’ve never heard “Dawn of Possession” and want to hear one of the most significant death metal records of all time, then just give it a go. Don’t hesitate.

“You are Jesus, you are lord. Imperfect god, you are nothing to me. For this you say I'll burn for all eternity...”
Standout tracks: “Those Left Behind”, “Into Everlasting Fire”, “No Forgiveness”, “Dawn of Possession”, “After My Prayers”
Final rate: 95/100

Today I will turn the clock back, 22 years ago. That was the time when death metal was newly born, slowly taking its form by releases of historical bands. One of these bands were Immolation. A group that unfortunately has been underappreciated through the years, regarding the recognition they have (not) been awarded. This debut release showed with a very emphatic way the mark that they were going to leave in the USDM scene.

Immolation managed from the very beginning to do something unique. Being excellent musicians, they incorporated in their music some elements that we do not hear in death metal too often, such as weird disharmonic melodies and strange solos. The constant rhythm changes and the perfect way their musical ideas fit with each other provide a skull-crushing result. From fast thrashy riffs to slow, annihilating ones and some sick groove that could not leave my head motionless. Both guitars sound as one in a perfect balance, while the bass playing of Dolan is firm and massive. Speaking of Ross, he has one of the most characteristic voices in death metal as it is deep and brutal, like growling straight from hell.

A special reference though should be made to the drums as well because they sound exhaustingly difficult. Smilowski provides a top notch performance with some tremendous tempo changes and great technique. After all, he is personally thanked by the other members of the band in the booklet for his great job. Another essential part of this release are the lyrics. They seem to have this evil aesthetic, but their meaning is not tangible. Quite the contrary, since they are abstract at times and create an evil atmosphere that really intrigues me. All of the above of course would be buried and could not be heard without a proper production. Immolation knew what they wanted to play and how they wanted it to sound, so everything is practically perfect.

Dawn of Possession was one of the first death metal albums I ever heard, so there was some time until I was able to perceive its magnificence. Even today it seems unbelievable to me that some guys in their early 20s wrote such a brilliant masterpiece. Anyone that listens to this album will probably give Immolation the place they rightfully deserve, among the pioneers of death metal.


Originally written for: The Lair of Storfeth

“Dawn of Possession” is without question among the staples of death metal in the genre’s golden era, as well as one the most accomplished works in the style of all time. Continuing the tradition of “Altars of Madness”, Immolation’s debut is filled with brilliantly sinister chromatic riffs that convey feelings of deranged madness and bloodlust with intensity previously unheard in death metal. The dark tonality makes the music captivating and enjoyable to follow despite its dismalness. It’s not particularly melodic, but the riffs are delightfully memorable and immensely atmospheric. Though vaguely thrashy like most early 90s death metal albums, “Dawn of Possession” innovated an entirely especial substyle of its genre far removed from the constraints of thrash metal. Aside from the quality of riffs an sich, the most noteworthy aspect of the album is the majestically dark, deep atmosphere, which the thick production, sinister guitar leads, and the almost inordinately heavy riffs and drumming together create. Comparing, for example, the artwork here to those of Cannibal Corpse albums released around the same time gives a fairly accurate image of how “Dawn of Possession” compares to its contemporaries.

Atmosphere aside, “Dawn of Possession” is perhaps Immolation at its most mundane and traditional, making it a perfect starting point for new listeners. Naturally, the music here is largely centered on guitars. Though Immolation’s guitar genius Robert Vigna would slightly alter and develop his riffing style later, as apparent on subsequent releases, “Dawn of Possession” is where his guitar leads are at their strongest, even if his later riffing style might have had greater overall effect than the style on his debut. The leads and solos are substantially less pervasive than on following albums, and while Vigna’s later works would feature honed technical brilliance and increased complexity, his ability to convey atmosphere through hellishly dark, otherworldly guitar leads is at its greatest here. Riffing-wise, this album contains many of Vigna's most impressive ones, even if they aren't quite as sophisticated or intricate as on subsequent albums. “Dawn of Possession” features some of the band’s catchiest tremolo-picked riffs; the kind of rumbling, dark and oddly inspiriting themes (“No Forgiveness…”) to which Vigna’s guitar occasionally leads a brilliant solo or counterpoint (“Fall In Disease”, the title track). Tremolo-picking aside, the bread-and-butter riffing is more thrash and palm-mute oriented and less atonal (though largely chromatic, slightly in the Swedish death metal fashion, but mostly borrowing from the tonal aesthetic of early Morbid Angel), and most riffs are built around swirling deep power chords, the faster notes palm-muted, and the longer ones generally sustained, constructing a sweeping, magnificently imposing whirlwind of utterly dark death metal.

The debut shows Immolation at a stage where many aspects of their later lauded style were yet undeveloped. For instance, there’s a certain hellish fury here that would gradually change its form and eventually disappear from Immolation's sound. Similarly, many elements peculiar to the New York death metal scene (even later bands like Malignancy) can be heard that eventually made way to characteristics and traits that Immolation’s later-conducted further development of its own style awarded. As far as the band’s following works compare to the debut, “Here In After” is already a much more refined and planned effort, lacking the spontaneity and blasphemous fury of “Dawn of Possession”, and the following albums continued in the same direction. As Immolation’s music became more complex, its chaotic aspects would increase (effectively peaking at “Failures For Gods”), while the utterly dark aggression and unholy fury would disappear. Certainly, there are far more hateful and brutal death metal albums than “Dawn of Possession”, and approaching Immolation’s debut, or any of their records, as some kind of a pinnacle of aggression and derangement would be misguided. However, this album expresses hate and powerful offensive intent extremely well; likely better than most others in the genre. There’s a sense of calculated, just barely restrained rage in the downtuned, immensely heavy riffing and Dolan’s frantic and yet controlled vocal delivery. Compared to the trademarks of Swedish death metal, for example, there’s considerably less grit and outright relentlessness. The hatred that Immolation expresses here is condensed, calculated and utterly sinister. There’s little impulsive anger here. The depth of atmosphere awards the album layers that go far beyond mundane assessments of catchiness, brutality or intensity. “Dawn of Possession” is something entirely unique.

Without question, the album’s strongest point is in the title track’s darkly atmospheric bridge (“Arise in flames…”), where, though only briefly, the relentless death metal background leaves the stage for an almost otherworldly, beautiful moment of revelry in ecstatic hatred and destruction. The music makes a swift return to the hectic world of barrages of New York death metal riffing and extremely heavy drumming, but that brief reverie is definitely the album’s most memorable moment, and one of the best moments in the band’s entire discography and death metal on the whole. “After My Prayers” and “Fall In Disease” also deliver incredibly, breathtakingly gorgeous moments, which is quite noteworthy considering the sheer blackness and destructive fury of this album.

Aside from the sheer superiority of the riffing, the inventiveness and brutality of the drumming and the befittingly thick production, what makes “Dawn of Possession” so utterly brilliant is its aura of unholiness and profound irreverence, as combined masterfully with memorability and spirit that even few outright riff-fetishist death metal bands can rival. Immolation’s debut does lack the murderous energy of much of early death metal, but it supplements it with unrivaled brilliance of horrific, depraved atmosphere, while studying and developing the extremes of death metal riffing to a laudably major extent. It should be stated that the approach and style sought here is quite dominant and the sounds fairly unvaried, possibly making this quite unpleasant to those not particularly enthusiastic about the atmosphere and aesthetic Immolation achieved on their debut album.

Dawn of Possession arrived the summer before I was about to finish up high school, and like anything with a death metal logo or Roadrunner stamp (of that period), I snatched it up without having even heard of the New Yorkers. Death metal was already a 'thing' among friends and classmates, with names like Carcass, Death, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel having stirred up some attention, and numerous touring packages already hitting the Boston area (and a local Salisbury Beach club which hosted loads of now legendary bands on early N. American tours); but, that said, the metal 'culture' in my region was still heavily embedded in thrash, hair metal, hardcore or the British trinity of Priest, Sabbath and Maiden. Only a handful of folks were seriously picking around in the underground, and I also encountered a bit of confusion with that other Eastern US abomination, Incantation. Understandable, since both started with the same letter, ended with the same suffix, and pursued extremity with a similar depth and conviction.

To some degree, this album got 'second tiered' in my collection due to the fact that I was still in the throes of appreciation for extremely catchy, evil old death metal with the sorts of catchy riff progressions I equated to the speed or thrash acts I was so enamored with. Even today, I wouldn't count Dawn of Possession among my desert island choices for this sub-genre, as the songwriting is simply not so strong or memorable as an effort like Consuming Impulse, Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos, Leprosy or Cause of Death. But I certainly enjoyed the debut, kept it in regular rotation for a few years, and have never regretted subsequent visitations, even during my dreaded 'Why must all these bands end in -tion and -opsy?' disenchantment phase somewhere in the middle of the 90s. Because, let's be honest: even if Immolation might not have provided me with any personal 'albums of the year' since its inception, there is just so much to appreciate about the band, and they've remained uncannily consistent, never ceding to emergent trends or selling themselves short, and braving even the most dwindled audiences during death metal's stagnation. I must have seen this band live a half dozen times through the years, never with a sizable crowd, and yet they've never given anything less than 100%. The very definition of the 'class act' in death metal (brutal or otherwise), and it's no wonder they've accrued such a high level of respect, online and offline, from the community.

Of course, even if Ross Dolan and Robert Vigna had been a bunch of scumbags, their music would still speak for itself. Dawn of Possession is one of those frustratingly ageless works that sounds no less massive, morbid and punishing today as when an awkward, pimply, unlayable-even-by-a-blind-hooker 16-year old New Englander first cracked its case over two decades ago. From the iconic Andreas Marschall covert artwork, to the choice in engineers, this is a surprisingly 'European' album. I say that because, rather than go with the flow and pursue the same, predictable Morrisound muffled and processed guitar tone that many of Immolation's Roadrunner labelmates had sought, they recorded this at Musiclab in Berlin, with none other than Harris fucking Johns on the boards. Yes, the esteemed producer and mixer of brilliant thrash and speed metal albums like Deathrow's Deception Ignored, Coroner's R.I.P., Pestilence's Consuming Impulse, Helloween's Walls of Jericho. Tankard, Sodom, Kreator, and many other efforts that shaped my childhood and being. Not exactly a stranger to death meal, but with Immolation he was adapting to a thicker, robust brand of punishment. A different style of writing. Even keeping in mind Consuming Impulse, you wouldn't hear this at first and make that connection. Which is why the guy was so damned good: his flexibility, and understanding of those aesthetics that made each of these creatures unique...

On a strictly superficial level, Dawn of Possession struck some semblance to other death metal works to have come before it. The tremolo riffing progressions in pieces like "Into Everlasting Fire" had that same menacing, morbid flavor I took away from Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy. The corpulent, unnerving grooves and breakdowns definitely fell somewhere between the Autopsy style and the British bludgeoning of Carcass (Symphonies of Sickness) and Bolt Thrower (Realm of Chaos). Ross Dolan's vocals were like a deeper, more guttural Chuck Schuldiner tempered with David Vincent, albeit with a pretty convincing sustain placed on many of the lyrical phrases. But the ability to fuse together lurching, loping grooves and faster picked passages wasn't playing out too closely to any other band before it. The songwriting is busy without becoming unnecessarily impossible or complex. The rhythm guitars pinch off a number of percussive squeals through the monstrous miasma, but blend them seamlessly into the overall riffing structure, rather than transforming them into an annoying 'feature' as many later, younger brutal death acts would (and still do). The intro to "No Forgiveness (Without Bloodshed)" is a great example. Immolation's choices in notation seemed to birth a strange, surreal darkness; like they were, at long last, translating some indecipherable, ancient infernal text into the language of urbanite death metal.

Yog-sothoth comes to Yonkers! And there was much suffering (and cool photo ops). It doesn't hurt that Dawn of Possession sounds so freakin' amazing. The rhythm guitar churns like a rich compost soil, broad and bright where necessary but pummeling enough to feel it in the colon. Glazed, eerie leads erupt off the contours of the background riffing like abysmal bats taking flight, and employ all manner of tapping and wailing techniques to sound as otherworldly as possible. Dolan's bass lines shadow the guitar, and though they're rarely as interesting, the fact that he's pulling double duty precludes any real disappointment. You can at least hear them swerving along like a 1st edition gelatinous cube sweeping clean a dungeon corridor. His vocals are given some great reverb at points to just hover off over the ballistic undercurrent, and though the guy just doesn't have a super distinct style like John Tardy or Martin van Drunen, his performance here is a perfectly serviceable and disturbing peer for David Vincent and Craig Pillard. By and large, though, I'd have to say that Craig Smilowski's drumming is the most standout component of this record. I simply can't believe that they could be mixed so loudly without losing the rest of the instrumentation!

You can hear every goddamn tom roll, kick, slap, snare and splash throughout, so prevalently that you feel as if you're actually sitting in Craig's chair and battering the kit yourself, effortlessly morphing between blasts and grooves, so second nature that it becomes third...nature. I'm not one of those blokes who pays such close attention to the drumming that every other instrument becomes moot, but these come across as a treat. Organic, expressive, phenomenal, and punishing enough to support the vaulted ceilings of the philosophical underworld in which Immolation dwells. Speaking of which, the sinister lyrics here, which read like a pathological examination of damnation against a backdrop of Milton and Dante, feel legitimately harrowing, haunting and sincere. Where a band like Deicide, who delighted in God-dissin' blasphemy so directly and theatrically that they created a shockwave through semi-popular culture, always came off 'hammy' to me. Clowns wielding inverted crosses. I have never gotten that impression from Immolation, and this lack of a disconnect really helps thunder home the barbs of darkness with due verisimilitude:

Twist of scripture, Christ possessed
Come forth with wrath, evil obsessed
Hatred and war, sadistic spell
Swallows the earth, thanks be to Hell!

For all its strengths, though, Dawn of Possession is not a perfect album. A near mandatory purchase for any self-respecting man, woman or child who dares wear the mantle of 'death metal fan'? Indeed. But there are a fair share of moments on the album in which I felt more of a swinging through the motions rather than any sense of soul sucking pathos. Where the brutality becomes quite soulless in spite of itself. It's evil as shit, but never quite had me jumping at shadows like Slowly We Rot, Consuming Impulse, Onward to Golgotha or Left Hand Path. A few riffs will miss by a wider margin than intended, and a transition or two will feel rushed or slapped together. In general, even though I consider this one of their best albums, a lot of later Immolation experiments with riffing structure and dissonance to greater effect, and that's really the band most have come to know and admire. Does it belong among the annals of cult classics? Unquestionably, but Immolation is not some flash in the pan or short-term fascination. It would be a disservice to experience just one of their recordings, because almost all of them are interesting even where they take only baby steps in progression. And that baby has a pitchfork, which it plans to shove directly up your...

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

It would be fair to say that Immolation have had a spectacular career. As a groundbreaking band that introduced the idea of far more technical guitar work and drum patterns than many interested in death metal were used to, this band has inspired countless that would follow them. Their debut album was released in 1991 under the Roadrunner Records label and the frenzy of power chord riffs and the constant fills mixed into the drum patterns were absolutely revolutionary. Ten songs make up the forty three minute insanity that this album contains and each one of them is nothing short of magnificent.

Constant tempo changes are the main course for the opening song "Into Everlasting Fire"; an idea the band would reuse on later works such as the song "Nailed To Gold"; and feels fresh and interesting. This is Immolation's world and in it they are free to drag their listener into a realm of death, darkness and destruction. Much of the "Dawn Of Possession" album is a mixture of lightning fast tremolo picked rhythm lines and incredibly fast and technical lead sections with various pinched harmonic-infested riffs scattered in between to keep the feeling of variety. Robert Vigna's ear-piercing solos tear through the wall of sound the rest of the instruments create to deliver one crude fact-you do not want to enrage Immolation.

The youthful energy that characterizes this album is best embodied by vocalist/bassist Ross Dolan who consistently holds up his end of the music throughout the entire release. Spewing out blasphemy in his signature monstrous roar is just another day at the office for this man, delivering his lines with incredible brutality and anger. The ingenious carnage that he creates with his voice is only matched by the chaotic bass performance he provides. Whilst much of his bass work follows the rhythm guitar; which is a feat in itself; he occasionally has the chance to shine by playing his own individual sections which meander away from what the rest of the band are doing at the time.

Another factor that contributes to the success of Immolation's spectacular debut is the savage drum performance that carries the album galloping forward at a blistering pace. "Those Left Behind" shows off a slower side to the band to begin with and whilst the drumming is more simplistic here than on much of this release; it also shows off Craig Smilowski as a multi-talented drummer; capable of performing at any speed to no less effect. "Despondant Souls" is another fantastic example of the drumming, with its near constant use of fills every few measures during the fastest sections. The intensity provided by Smilowski is truly something to marvel at as one indulges and revels in the cruel music displayed here.

"Dawn Of Possession" is a special debut, never letting up in its relentless aggression throughout. The vocals are demonic, the drumming chaotic and the riff work creating an evil atmosphere which links in well with the anti-Christian lyrics on display here.

This album has the best of two different death metal worlds. The classic old school thrashy world, and the dark atmospheric one that Immolation themself would become innovators in. That’s what makes this album so great. It has waves of that grizzly atmospheric sound that brings images of a dying world under siege by legions of hell spawn, while at the same time having those delicious grooves and headbanging riffs. There’s even a great variety of song structures here, which is something that gives this album a big boost ahead of a lot of death metal albums.

I mean some death metal bands (*cough Cannibal Corpse *cough) only know how to make one type of song. And I'm not taking anything away from those bands. Hell I could listen to Bloodthirst all day, but it does keep those albums back from reaching that certain level if you know what I mean. Let’s take a look at this masterpieces song structures. The opener Into Everlasting Fire, one of my personal favorite death metal songs, is basically a progressive song. So many different riffs assault you, with varying tempos and sections. Throw in a few skull shredding solos by veteran guitar master Bob Vigna and you have yourself a masterpiece. Not to mention the epic lyrics.

May the love of god shed its grace
upon the evil side of man
symbolic throne begins to tarnish
poisoned with impurity
dark clouds start to thicken
dominate tranquil skies
frigid earth devoid of life
begins to rot and DIE!

Put words this awesome into the talented voice of Ross Dolan and you have one of the finest vocal performances in death metal. All throughout this album you will be treated to reverberating, spine shattering vocals that are understandable, and when you understand them, you don't feel yourself getting dumber! Back to songs. The next song is the chugging Despondent souls, which is a more mid paced head banger song. The title track is a favorite of mine whenever I feel the need to get a concussion, just try to not bang your head when the concluding riff kicks in, and kick is a good term, as it feels as if Bob Vignas chords are pounding you right in the gut!

The guitars on this album truly could be licensed as illegal weapons. They hit hard, like a hammer when the beat is thrashing or if it’s time to slow the tempo down, and cut like a knife when it’s time to shred or slice up some of that cold atmosphere. Like on another frequent listen of mine, Those Left Behind, which features all of the above. And throughout the next songs: Internal Decadence, No Forgiveness and Burial Ground, you can really hear some of the famous Vigna Pinch harmonics. These three songs are shorter thrashier songs.

The last song that I find myself gravitating too a lot is After My Prayers. The intro is classic Vigna, with the squealing guitars and the atmospheric trem picking. This song has a very black/doom feel to it. But though I like anybody have my favorites, this whole album is awesome, with no stragglers, and no filler. Every song has its own part to play on this album, and I more often than not listen to the whole thing. Even though it is longer than the average death metal album at 42 or so minutes.

A few more details on this album for you readers out there who aren't sold yet. The rhythm guitars are a great complement to the leads, playing with the guitars, at times in ways that aren’t just mimicry. As does the bass. Not super loud but not too quiet either. Complements the mix very nicely. Craig Smilowski is a beast on the drum kit, showing his blooming, unique style on the skins. Instrumentally I can't find any complaints.

Nor can I find problems with the mix. Every instrument is heard just the way I want it to be heard. Hell even the artwork rules on this album. There is no reason for you to not go out and buy this! If you like death metal, go to amazon right now!

For bringing the Immolation brand to old school death metal, Dawn of Possession gets an easy 99 or a 5 out of 5
Highlights:
Into Everlasting Fire
Dawn of Possession
After My Prayers
Those Left Behind
Despondent Souls
Burial Ground

Anyone who’s ever ventured into NYDM or old school death metal in general will have stumbled across this album earlier on in their findings. 1991 was a prime year for death metal, seeing other releases like “Effigy of the Forgotten” and “Blessed Are The Sick”. “Dawn of Possession” ranks among these records as a classic death metal assault. Immolation’s debut may not have been as technical as they would later get, even compared to “Here In After”. However, their identity is already really solid on this album, and they pretty much set up the template for their uniquely evil death metal.

Immolation never really sounded like another death metal band, and always had something very unique to them, between Ross Dolan’s distinct low end growl, their use of rhythmic experimentation, and how the drums would play with the riffs. Sure, you could compare it to Incantation or Autopsy in terms of how dark, heavy, and brutal it is, but Immolation had their own approach. Just check out some of the weird layered riffing in “Despondent Souls”. Through use of chromatics and tritones, guitarists Bob Vigna and Tom Wilkinson play off each other to create tension in the riffs, and then converge back together to release.

Between Vigna, Wilkinson and Dolan, these guys really thought about how to structure their songs and make them interesting. As I mentioned, they build tension within their riffs, and seem to do this with their song structures as well. Each song presents some parts that are slower/faster, primitive/technical, and flawlessly structure them to create nice contrasts here and there. Craig Smilowski (of Goreaphobia) does a fantastic job keeping it all together and created the blueprint to how drums should work in Immolation – follow the riff. His beats get complicated as the riffs do, and feature tons of great double bass work, tom fills, and quick hand work to back these compositions.

Every track on this album is a classic, period. This is where it all started, and Immolation were a band that influenced a lot of more brutal death metal bands, as well as a lot of the more technical ones, but still trumps them all in terms of quality and consistency. It would be another 4 years until Immolation struck again, with “Here In After”, which is similar to this album, but more musically complex. Metal Mind Productions has reissued this record in recent years, so there’s no excuse not to own this classic slab of death metal.

Shit, this is one of the best death metal albums ever recorded! There are tempo changes everywhere, raw melodies, fast and brutal drums, totally evil growls, and frightening solos,(I said frightening because I almost feel scared when I heard them, they’re slow and malicious). The combination of these elements is the perfect recipe to create an enormous and destructive bomb that lasts 42 minutes and 42 seconds exploding.

Riffs like the one on the beginning of “Those Left Behind”, make this record what it is, a sinister work that unlike most death metal records, is not simply violence, it’s pure evilness reflected in those wicked guitars, guttural growls, and impious lyrics like “once created in his imagine, now destroyed in his fury...”, or “
you are Jesus, you are lord, imperfect god, you are nothing to me...” That’s the essence of Immolation, one of the most evil bands ever, and one of the best too. The cover displays the same evil idea, demons raping the angels in the sky...

The album starts with “Into Everlasting Fire”, one of the band's classics, it contains the largest amount of tempo changes of the album I think, a lot of riffs are shown in this song, and a lot of solos too. “Despondent Souls” begins with that slow riff and that doomed scream, and suddenly gets faster. The combination of low notes with high ones at the end of a riff is very notable in almost every part of the song, resembling a desperate scream of someone who is being tortured in hell or something like that!(at least that is my interpretation). “Dawn Of Possession” just grinds your head from the start to the end, perhaps is the fastest song of the album. “Those Left Behind” has a large amount of rhythm changes, but not as much as the first track, this is one of my favorites because of the lyrics, but musically is as good at the others, not better... only lyrics can make the difference. It starts with another slow riff that is modified and become the main riff of the song. Another cool part is the riff played from 1:37 to 2:08, one of the best parts of the album. “Internal Decadence” is a pretty fast one, those thundering drums keep the song dynamic, with every break this guy, Craig Smilowski, does. He’s maybe the best musician of the album.

Those were the first 5 songs, now the other 5. “No Forgiveness (Without Bloodshed)” it’s almost instrumental, there are just a few lines written to be sung by Ross Dolan, it features one of the best and largest solos of the album and some explosive blast beats when Dolan sings. “Burial Ground” has cool lyrics too, about how war destroys earth, is another of the songs were Smilowski shows his skills (well, he does in every song actually), the break in 2:43 is simply amazing. “After My Prayers” is the longest song of the album, it begins with a cool riff that goes down with every note, it seems to be infinite the first time you hear it, it just gets lower and lower until it reaches a high note, is like being pushed the stairs of a 20 ft building and get up and be pushed again. The same riff is repeated later, but it isn’t boring, the band keep it fresh, and to be a 6 minute song it is very fluid. “Fall In Disease” is another fast track, it follows the same pattern as the other ones, heavy and evil riffs with crazy drumming and low vocals. “Immolation” is sadly the last song, it is one of the first compositions with the name Immolation, and is another fast, brutal piece of classic DM, it shows the capacity of the band since its inception, and their signature technical riffs.

This is one of the best albums,(every Immolation album is good however) of this elite death metal band, a classic that must be in your collection.

America's death metal scene back in the early nineties was a strong yet progressing time. Death metal bands were sprouting up everywhere and the genre was at it's highest fan base. Many bands that came up at that time have been a powerful influence on modern death metal, and one of those bands is Immolation. During 1991, Immolation released "Dawn Of Possession" which quickly became an undergroud hit and is one of the most ruthless and brutal death metal debuts of our time.

One thing that separates Immolation's debut from other death metal debuts is the technical riffing and drumming. Bands like Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel poured a decent amount of technicality into their music, but Immolation out did them all; only Cryptopsy and Gorguts can top them in the technical field. Guitarist Robert Vigna and Tom Wilkinson do a tremendous job of constantly changing in and out of each riff. The riff changes are unpredictable and thrilling as Wilkinson and Vigna sway between multiple riffs, which range from standard death riffs to mid paced thrash influenced riffs, but they still contain the usual zest of any death metal band. The guitar speed is a huge plus on "Dawn Of Possession." Vigna and Wilkinson do an electrifying job of playing technical riffs at incredible speed. Trying to comprehend the speed of the riffs and the amount of notes hit is almost impossible. The soloing is nothing special. The solos are usually short and are somewhat predictable, but the overall guitar work is fantastic. Drummer Craig Smilowski gives off a wonderful drum performance that certainly isn't a let down. Smilowski shows he can keep up with the rest of the band with his quick reflexes. His reflexes show just how talented he is when he is bashing his snare at full force and is double bassing at lighting fast speed and he'll suddenly stop and catch his cymbals and do something completely different and switch between the two.

Not only does Ross Dolan do a terrific job on vocals, but he also established THE signature sound of death metal vocals. Dolan's voice destroyed the old norms of death growls and replaced them with something much more devastating then before. Dolan uses extremely deep growls that penetrate the music and fits perfectly in every single way. During most of the songs, Dolan lets out a massive growl that sounds like a beast that really shows what this guy is capable of. Absolutely amazing vocal performance.

When all is said and done, Immolation were just as good back in 1991 as they are now. "Dawn Of Possession" is defiantly a classic death metal album and should be added to any metalhead's collection.

This review was orginally written for: http://www.Thrashpit.com