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Immolation > Here in After > Reviews
Immolation - Here in After

They'll never see his kingdom... They'll burn with Jesus... - 95%

Slater922, February 12th, 2023
Written based on this version: 1996, CD, Metal Blade Records (EU)

Just five years after dropping one of the most influential death metal albums within the New York death metal scene, Immolation would return once again to release another round of dark and destructive death metal known as "Here in After". Being a guy who used to think that Dawn of Possession was the only worthy Immolation album, I thought that HIA was just gonna be a watered-down version of the debut. But when I decided to give the rest of the Immolation albums a chance, this one might actually be on-par with the debut.

Much like with the debut, Immolation cuts straight to the chase with their first song "Nailed to Gold" opening the album with raw and messy riffs, bombastic blastbeats, and a deep and gutted bass to tie it all around. One notable thing with this album is that the production is slightly cleaner, as the instruments sound more balanced and equal. Despite this, it mostly maintains its raw and unpolished structure with some melodic/technical riffs thrown into mix, as with the case of the Nailed to Gold. In fact, this album does lean more towards technical elements compared to the last album, as the structure feels more calculated and dissonant. The strongest examples of this would be in two of my favorite tracks on this album: "Here in After" and "Away from God". In both tracks, the riff go for a more slower and agonizing pace that only furthers the raw and extreme atmosphere, with the more faster moments driving into the more chaotic elements. Fans of DOP might have to adjust to the cleaner production, but otherwise, it does maintain the eeriness of the debut while also maintaining a technical edge.

The vocals are also just as disturbing. Ross Dolan continues to do the vocals here, and while they sound more or less the same as from the debut, I'd argue they are a bit more fitting to the instrumentals. Given the deep growls and occasional cackles, they flow surprisingly well with the technical and dissonant riffs and drumming, with "I Feel Nothing" in particular being one of the strongest vocal performances in the album. Hearing Ross belch out "I feel nothing" not only pushes how painful he feels in his nothingness, but it also flows well with the deep riffs and technical drumming. There are a couple of moments where his vocals kind of get buried in the mix, but otherwise, they still sound as creepy as ever.

As for the lyrics, they're also pretty good. I don't think their songwriting will ever match that of DOP, but HIA does get pretty close. Take the lyrics to "Christ's Cage" for example, where this verse quotes:

Crushed by the weight of devotion through the hails of a dying trinity
Within these bars they'll wait an eternity
For the coming of a dead messiah
In passion they adore, embodied with lies
Tempted by the world, carry out their lives
As they press against the bars, steel upon their flesh
Possessed by the one they call lord.


This verse really delves into the anti-Christianity themes, with talks of the trinity dying and a coming of a new dead messiah. It doesn't necessary focus on the horror aspects compared to the debut, but the details of Christ's cage still sounds disturbing, as well as the tone of it all sounding unnerving. And given the blasphemous themes of the lyrics, the instrumentals are very fitting to the lyrics. With the dissonant riffs and the agonized growls of Ross, both the instruments and vocals further push out the anti-religious themes. The lyrics might not be as powerful when compared to DOP, but they can still provide some excellent storytelling.

Here in After isn't exactly flawless, and I still think DOP is the stronger album of the two. However, HIA does take on a more dissonant and technical approach to the DOP formula that not only works well, but it also contains some great vocals and lyrics that only enhance the dark themes. If you are a fan of DOP, but want to give the other Immolation albums a chance, I would definitely recommend checking out this album.

In the Christ's Cage - 100%

Hames_Jetfield, November 25th, 2020

Immolation had to wait a long time, 5 years for the release of the successor to the cult "Dawn Of Possession". For those times, it was a colossal break and a huge risk from the perspective of the fact that after 1993 death metal clearly went out of circulation (at the expense of black metal) for a few years. The Americans from Immolation, however, did not worry about it and decided to go on further, hitting in 1996 with an album even better than "Dawn..." and definitely more innovative. This "Here In After" quickly turned out to be a big breakthrough in the discography of Ross Dolan and the company, and in the following years, this position became extremely influential on the masses of younger death metal (and not only) bands established in the 21st century.

The aforementioned breakthrough concerns much more confusing the guitar (both technically and in terms of introducing dissonances), more twisted drums (although still without the classical blasts), narrowing the duration of the tracks (most of them stick to 4 minutes), tweaking the climate (here the cover says it all) and increasing the dose of extremes (because the whole cd hurts even more than the debut). Interestingly, all this intense and generally very dense atmosphere did not abandon a certain catchiness or ease in distinguishing individual motifs - even if at first you may have the opposite impression. Despite the prevailing stuffiness on the disc, the whole "Here In After" is absorbed like one story. The number of ideas per track together with a large dose of brutality, dingy atmosphere and Vigna's virtuosity simply captivates that in such a short time (whether it's a song or an album in general) you can stuff so many motifs without losing readability and heaviness. "Towards Earth", "Christ's Cage", "Nailed To Gold", "I Feel Nothing" or "Burn With Jesus" are the best examples of this, and actually each of the "Here In After" program, because none of the tracks differs from the rest. To put it so poetically: all of them daringly destroy with muddy sounds straight from the greatest depths of hell.

So, on "Here In After" Ross Dolan and the rest of the band broke through the complexity and brutality of "Dawn Of Possession", although they didn't go too far with it to lose all sense. On the contrary, their second album is an even more interesting and much more peculiar portion of music - here exceptionally being more dissonant than later. Well, by "Here In After" "muddy" style of Immolation started to gain heaviness. In this style that they recorded a masterpiece at the very beginning.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2020/11/immolation-here-in-after-1996.html

Definitely a must-have if you like the genre - 95%

Mandalorian, January 30th, 2017

When I spotted “Here in After” for the first time in my local CD store I’ve been attracted by its cover. It features a gate with many desperate demons suffering from something that should be related to the presence of an angel on the right. Well, suffering demons are a damn good introduction for a good death metal album, so… why not to listen to it? I did it and it was the right thing to do because I found out that it’s probably one of my favourite death metal albums.

Vocals are a good example of powerful growl in every track. There isn’t much variety, but to be honest you don’t really need it in an album like this. I mean, variety is always a good thing and it would be appreciated, but it’s not the first thing to think about when you listen to death metal vocals. It’s an angry growl which fits the songs’ lyrical themes very well, that’s enough. Words are barely intelligible but this is how growl works. Guitars are probably the best part of the whole album. Riffs are complex, somehow catchy and well structured (not only riffs actually; the whole composition has an admirable structure), and solos are exquisitely technical. Drums are fast in some tracks, slower in other ones, proving a good variety in composition and playing. Their pace can skip from moderate to frantic and that’s an added value.

Lyrics are a good mix of nihilistic atheism and pessimism. There are no cryptic messages hidden in there because what Immolation wanted to do with this album is very clear: shouting their contempt (and maybe resentment?) about Christianity. Every song is irreverent: there is no Heaven, God doesn’t care about this world, Christians are fools, Jesus was nothing more than a mortal man and souls don’t need to be saved by religion, which is oppressive, that’s all.

Despite the overall good production there is a negative remark (probably the only one): bass can be clearly heard only if the album is played with proper Hi-Fi speakers. Nevertheless quality is good. You can listen to this album many times in just a few days and you won’t get tired of it, not because it’s light but because it’s interesting. It’s heavy, powerful and angry, and you still can enjoy it without putting it aside after listening to it twice. That’s what makes an album great, and that’s why “Here in after” is a must-have that should be in everyone’s collection.

No Radio Silence on WFKU-Acheron - 78%

autothrall, April 25th, 2013

Here in After sees Immolation stepping slightly left of the Dawn of Possession debut, and it is perhaps the point at which the Yonkers outfit could really be dubbed a distinct entity in the field. That's not to say that I enjoyed this more than the debut, but structurally it's a more interesting and individualistic piece that abandons more traditional choices for truly atonal, creepy guitars, wedges of dissonance and unexpected melody, and grooving transitions that arrive like waves of black ichor lapping at an abyssal shoreline. Sure, they had been one of the victims of the Roadrunner imprint's decision to drop a bunch of their lesser selling death metal outfits, in favor of nu-metal or whatever shit they decided to bandwagon through the 90s, but they spent the four years between records to pretty good use here, and had they continued with the mildly more conventional style expressed on Dawn of Possession, they might never have left the ripples they have through the underground.

Along with comparable 90s classics like Demilich's Nespithe and Gorguts' Obscura (the latter of which is perhaps slightly influenced by this very material), Here in After seeks to expand the bounds of death metal with an uncanny palette of grooves in tunes like "I Feel Nothing" or "Away from God". There's still a bit of that slinking, creeping sensation culled from a Carcass, Autopsy or Bolt Thrower influence, but Vigna and Wilkinson have really crafted that into something more difficult to trace. The note progressions are somber and vile simultaneously, like lazy Elder Gods slumming around in their pajamas, but they've also retained those weird, popping squeals at the end of chord or single note phrases. The guitars are actually quite loud on this album, with a higher ratio of presence against the drums than on Dawn of Possession, and in particular this helps out Vigna's lead sequences, which are more meticulously crafted distractions here even though the tone is often pretty dry rather than atmospheric. The rhythm guitars batter you through the first few tracks, and never let up with their ominous chugging and a dark sense of humor. A lot of latent, mild melodic passages are woven through the punishment, like the opener "Nailed to Gold", but I will admit that these felt a bit predictable at times, and were one of the reasons I dug the album less than its predecessor.

Here in After's heavy dependence on crashing, grooving curvature comes with a caveat: that at any second, at the drop of a hat, the band might break out in a frenzy of Craig Smilowski's jazzy, fill-oriented drumming which is just as compelling as the debut. Just because they're exploring this new territory, doesn't mean they can't still lay out the blast beats, precise walls of double bass drums, etc. Dolan's bass playing has improved here, maintaining its clearly audible, bottom feeding catfish tone, but also crafted around a more enterprising series of notes that help to offset some of the rhythm guitars. His voice is somewhat less charismatic than on the earlier recordings; it's deeper, gruffer, and reminds me at times of David Vincent's lower gutturals from Morbid Angel's Domination, another album which arguably belongs to this experimental sect in the 90s. While fulsome and brooding, there were moments here where I felt like I'd like a little more dynamic range from his barking, because it does feel monotonous against all the jerking, tearing and rolling guitar rhythms and the truly expressive percussion. That said, it works here well enough that it's doesn't break the deal.

Have to admit, I didn't care so much for the first two tunes "Nailed to Gold" and "Burn With Jesus", and the album really only warms up for me with the title track and just about everything afterward. It's merely a case of not enjoying the embedded melody 'payoff' in the former, and there were some pretty boring brickwall riff/drum pairings in the latter. Once I got beyond that, though, the album was heavily varied and intense, with particular favorites coming in "I Feel Nothing", "Away from God" and "Under the Supreme". You can really lose yourself in some of these alien landscapes, across which the grooves seem like massive, churning and loping aberrations to which the listener is little more than a speck of dust. Seriously, remember those Cyclopean striding beasts from the film The Mist? Well, Immolation plays music here that wouldn't have been out of place as ambient radiation in their home dimension. The album isn't always immensely catchy, but it is unquestionably loaded with ideas that prove the New Yorkers were far more than a one-shot drop in the bucket with the great debut. I can understand how some fans regard it as their masterpiece, but sadly I can't honestly say I enjoyed more than about 75% of the content.

Production is superb, though. This was recorded closer to home in Hoboken, NJ, by a guy I'd never heard of, but once again, it does not sound like it has aged even an hour since the original release. Otherworldly and timeless just like the architecture of the songs themselves. Drums aren't quite so prevalent as the first album, since the guitars are more muscular, but I had no problem hearing everything, and most of the tunes have enough depth that you can listen through numerous times and pick out new details with each revisit. The lyrics here are decent, perhaps a bit more streamlined with the direct, Deicide style of antichristian sentiment than the Faustian burdens of the debut, but nothing to scoff at. The Andreas Marschall cover art here give us an update, or 'sequel' to the first album image, though some might be dismayed that the demons seem to be on the losing end... Immolation, however, is not on the losing end, and neither will you be for checking this out.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

"All of us in pain... Together" - 99%

Dead By Dawn 15, February 5th, 2013

Immolation...what more could be said about what could possibly be the most consistent death metal band of all time (aside from Suffocation, Akercocke, Incantation, etc.)? What this means is this band has undergone little to absolutely no criticism from fans or reviews. Here we have Here in After, the band's second full-length album, which was preceded by the "landmark" debut, Dawn of Possession. However, many look at that album as this band's masterpiece. I, however, give this album the crown of Immolation's masterpiece (just beating Close to a World Below by a little). Now for the review that will explain why Here in After is my most treasured Immolation release.

Now, on a top death metal albums of all time scale, Here in After will always have second place because Incantation's Onward to Golgotha is in my opinion the greatest death metal album of all time, but enough about that. Here in After was my first exposure to Immolation when I was just getting into death metal. I was going through iTunes looking for a new band to listen to. I found Immolation and began previewing the sample to Nailed to Gold. In those thirty seconds I was absolutely blown away. What fascinated me most about the band was the fact that Ross Dolan was back in the mix and pocketed himself in with the instruments so that everything could be heard quite clearly. Now before I got into this band I was a huge Cannibal Corpse and Deicide fan where, if you hadn't noticed, on most releases the vocalist takes full grasp on the mix, but Immolation offered something different for me, something I liked quite a lot.

Another great thing about this album is the guitars. Robert Vigna and Thomas Wilkinson are definitely one of the best guitar duos in death metal history. Instead of relying on the blistering speeds of bands like Slayer, they also make some of the most menacing grooves I've ever heard. See songs like Burn With Jesus, Here In After, I Feel Nothing, and Towards Earth for the best examples of this. Also, this is one of the main reasons this album tops Close to a World Below in my book, because on that album the guitars have a more polished quality whereas on this album the sound is quite murky and as I said before adds quite a menacing sound to them.

The bass quite frankly can be heard at times, but it's not the main spot of this album, which is quite a shame because Ross is a good bassist, so some bass interludes would have been a little refreshing, but it's not huge detriment to the album.

The drums are good, but not great. Craig Smilowski was a great drummer, but if I had a personal favorite Immolation drummer it would have to be Alex Hernandez, but again Craig's drumming is great on this release. blast beating on the fast parts and following the beat to a tee on the slow, murky, doom-influenced passages.

The lyrics are also a strong plus on this album and also for the band. Where most bands use Satanism as a way to sell more records through shock value, Immolation uses their anti-religious beliefs in a more realistic way. What I mean by this is they write lyrics based on the hypocrisies of religion as a whole (especially Christianity) and write songs based on realistic themes rather than Satanic worship.

All in all, as I said before this is Immolation's masterpiece reigning over all of their other masterpieces. If I were to pick a favorite from this album, I honestly couldn't because every track is just outstanding in its own right, so if you're a death metal fan of any sorts, don't worry about country preference, NY, or Floridian preference; it doesn't matter because whatever your preference is, this album has something for everyone to enjoy.

...And crushes me… again… and again... and again. - 95%

6CORPSE6GRINDER6, October 21st, 2012

Immolation’s trademark of pure evilness and worship to the shadows is still intact on their second offer. I can’t imagine how painful was the wait for their second ruthless death metal discharge, after the ineffable quality of their debut album 5 years could have been an eternity. But this album is worth every fucking day of waiting in vigil, it’s the soundtrack of fucking hell. It condenses the sorrow and pain of a long lost soul and turns it into music just for humanity to hear and witness the real depths of horror. There isn’t a hint of hope or light on any note they play.

Some little improvements I recognize from their first album is the soloing, it is still technical and syncopated but somehow they managed to throw more evilness in it, slowing the pace sometimes, which make things much more memorable too. This is not applied to the riffs though, that is still fast and frantic. There are more odd timings but they are still just a further exploration in riffing from what they did on their debut. Slow passages bedizen their rapid and brutal brand of death metal and they may come in suddenly, drastic tempo changes are present everywhere. The lyrical themes are the same well-thought, argument based anti Christian rants, intellectually sharp and edgy as always; not the typical Deicide non-sense.

The quality of the recording is ok, not as today’s bass flooded heavy productions, more dismal and mid range oriented. Guitars sound like a swarm of bees, distortion is very acid and overdriven. Not with lots of reverb, just saw shaped soundwaves for Satan. Their abrasive sound is very dynamic, high pitched notes and harmonics sound brighter and nostalgic, their palm muted riffs: merciless and rougher. Bass guitar is not as present as on their latter works, a debt the band had with Mr. Ross Dolan, bassist/vocalist. His job behind the microphone nevertheless is considered one of the best. His growling, particularly evil and low pitched but still clear enough to understand the lyrics shows no pity for the credulous, what a hell of a frontman. Craig Smilowski beats the shit out of the drums again… a fantastic death metal drummer, you can hear his exquisite technique on the bass drums, how fluid and even each strike goes after another. His arms are solid too, the amount and quality of drum fills in every song is insane! The cymbal work is the only aspect where he doesn’t stand out, but it is still better than it is on 90% of the genre’s percussionists and this is fucking death metal, who gives a shit?

A Death Metal Classic - 90%

PKendall317, July 13th, 2011

I'll be real honest here, Here in After was the first Immolation album I ever heard back when I was getting out of the mallcore/nu-metal scene and into the death metal scene, and again to be honest, I didn't like it, shelving the album without really giving it a second thought. Then one day a tour came to my city headlined by Vader and Immolation. Up to that point, everyone I talked to said they put on an excellent show and after Vader stepped off the stage and Immolation stepped on, I was completely blown the fuck away!

Immolation's slow to mid-paced and occasionally fast-paced tempo and distorted and warbling guitars that I initially disliked seem very fitting based on the city from which the band comes from. For those of you not familiar with the history of NYC, the entire area was once a swampy, bog-like area. In fact, the NYC that George Washington and other founding fathers would have seen would have largely been underwater, but that's another story. My point is that the unique sound Immolation has created is highly reminiscent of a dark, foggy, disgusting bog, and they use it to great effect.

The guitar work ranges from slow to mid-paced like on "Burn With Jesus", "Here in After" and others to faster-paced playing like on the opening track and my personal favorite, "Nailed to Gold", but there aren't very many fast-paced tracks on here. The songwritting on "Here in After" is absolutely superb and you won't find any filler tracks. Some songs are simply better than others.

The music is very bass heavy and not just on Ross Dolan's bass, but the bass drums as well. It serves to give the music a much deeper sound and gives the album a somewhat "bouncy" feel to it.

Ross Dolan's vocals on Here in After and with Immolation are very well done. They aren't the typical death growls of, say, Glenn Benton or other death metal vocalists. They're more bass heavy like everything else on the album and are more like a low, guttural, snarl.

In the end, I can't believe I underrated this album and this band, which is now one of my favorites.

From The Hidden Bog of NY It Rose... - 97%

Liquid_Braino, November 3rd, 2009

A flurry of bludgeoning drum bashing and amorphous brutal riffing opens this work. No gloomy atmospheric intro misleading one to think maybe…just maybe…the band has shed their guitars to become a dark ambient group before the inevitable “gotcha!” battering of guitars dashes those worries or hopes. A wall of musical madness strikes like a sludge-coated sledgehammer to the face. So in tribute I’ll just review this thing without any background bullshit. No comments about when I first discovered it after thinking they had broken up due to such a time lapse since their previous album, or what I had for breakfast before playing this disc for the first time. None of that shit. Just a review…nothing more.

This album is like a sunless, thick vapor drenched swamp ridden with carnivorous amphibians and mutating entities. Seriously, this album is organic, fat, muddy and alive, with ‘alive’ being the key word here since there’s a decent amount of muddy lifeless crap in the realms of extreme metal. The guitars here don’t simply switch from one chord sequence to the next. They mutate, writhe and squirm from riff to riff in such a way as to be unpredictable but not unmemorable. The rhythm section plays off the guitars well, with the drummer sometimes suddenly hitting off-beats to help enhance an effect of musical passages being played in reverse despite that not being the case.

The guitar riffs need a paragraph of their own, so here it is. Holy shit! A swirling quagmire of bizarre chords and unexpected notes greets the ears with demented time signatures until a sudden catchy riff bursts out of nowhere like a giant tentacle tearing off your head and sending it soaring towards the nearest stain glass window. Catchy, yes, but not pretty. What they are though is heavy. Real heavy. Each song has its own set of memorable pulverizing chord progressions that are unique and even disquieting. From the shambling molasses of I Feel Nothing’s finest moments to the rapid-fire guttural blasts of weirdness within Away From God, there’s a whole lot of creativity going on here without embellishments or peaceful passages, which to me is an impressive feat since a constant bombardment of brutality can get a bit tiresome over the course of an entire album concerning lesser musicians. In this case, once I start playing this myrrh-drenched 37 minute creation, I practically need to listen to its entirety, sucked into its bubbling aural quicksand.

Other aspects need to be brought up, such as vocals. They are a constant low roar that’s actually quite audible, making the delivery of the lyrics seem even more blasphemous. His vocals may not change much in pitch, but there’s a strong sense of rhythm to them that adds to the overall tempo and flow of the album. And they sound seriously evil. The lyrics he growls forth are basically anti-Christian in nature, not in a “Hail Satan” slant, but rather the more contemplative “Jesus, you reeeeally messed up this time” variety of prose. It gets a bit odd after awhile hearing the word “Jesus” mentioned so often throughout this disc, as if singer Ross’ obsession with the man was getting out of hand. Towards the album’s end I even felt sorry a bit for Christ almost enough to think “C’mon Ross…give the guy a break or at least let him finish his sandwich”. This makes the album cover an ironic statement of sorts, with demons in agony in the presence of a particularly strong angel, like retribution for the event depicted on Dawn Of Possession’s cover. With these demons desperately blocking their ears, I imagine the angel is probably belting out something akin to Celine Dion, or maybe Underoath.

Guitar solos also deserve a mention, as they snake around each song structure with a strange vigorous blend of chaos and melody. These solos are neither fluffy with a prog-like melodic approach nor an atonal blast of random notes. There’s definitely a structure going on concerning these solos...a very warped one at that, but still relatively stable.

The production quality is where the swampy atmosphere can be attributed. This is definitely death metal of the “old-school” variety, without the sterile polished sheen of more recent fare. Drums in particular, lack in precise clarity and without a particularly taut snare drum, while the bass drums have strong low-end to emit a brutal vibe, occasionally oozing into the guitars making some blasting passages discordant and difficult to interpret. A thick miasma hovers over the general churning progressions, but I don’t think it affects the album negatively, since the sheer brutality of this monster is still completely intact, but with an added oppressive atmosphere.

This album should be ranked as a true death metal classic. Sure, Dawn Of Possession was monstrously awesome for its time, and their Close To A World Below & Unholy Cult era is deservingly praised, but Here In After combines that old-school charm with a more modern technical approach so damn well that it can’t be ignored. It’s not easy listening even by death metal standards, as it doesn’t follow traditional power chord and blastbeat structures like so many other bands. Of course, that’s why I dig it so much. Easy listening is for Celine Dion fans, or maybe Underoath.

Not for phillistines or those lacking dedication - 96%

HowDisgusting, January 27th, 2009

It's tough to maintain the appearance of objectivity when talking about one's favorite band. It's tougher still when said band's genius seems to be lost on a lot of people. So I say, 'fuck it, I'm gonna ham this thing up and let everyone else decide if I'm being fair.'

Immolation's sophomore effort, nearly five years in the making after 1991's Dawn of Poossession was the result of a protracted evolutionary period that saw the band transform from a relatively standard atmospheric NYDM sound to a genre-redefining, cacophonous orchestra that sounded like it was created by some mad scientist, experimenting with sonic torture in hell's own laboratory. Here In After is Immolation at their most experimental, and their most inaccessible. The payoff is very high, but this is the last album I'd recommend to someone when introducing them to the band for the first time.

Right from the opening strains of "Nailed To Gold", you can tell that this is no ordinary death metal album. The initial groove in this song is a flurry of dissonant harmonies over an asymmetrical rhythm that would be a challenge for even an experienced jazz player to replicate without quite a bit of practice... and things haven't even really kicked into high gear yet. We're still in 4/4! Structurally, "Nailed" is probably the most straightforward song on here, with a verse-verse-chorus-solo-chorus-verse arrangement. But the individual riffs are twisted to a degree unheard-of in metal at the time.

Guitarists Bob Vigna and Tom Wilkinson, over the half-decade it took to create this album, expanded their repertoire of techniques and their understanding of music theory almost exponentially, it seems. Here In After, in its entirety is so rife with unorthodox phrasings and rhythm patterns that even Igor Stravinsky would have to tip his hat and stand impressed. Immolation does things with slides and bends on this record that were ordinarily considered the domain of the whammy bar junkie - check out the ending riff of the masterpiece title track for just one example. There are also ample nods to Voivod and their prog rock forefathers in the chord voicings, which go a long way towards imbuing this album with a convincingly sinister ambience that most extreme metal bands can only dream of replicating.

There's also not even a hint of the type of tiresome sameness on Here In After that's plagued so many death metal albums over the years. Each song has a completely unique structure and a hook that resembles nothing else on the record. There's no confusing the fluttery canter of "Under the Supreme" with the grotesque sludginess of "Here In After", the epic build and climax of "Christ's Cage" or the monstrous wail of "I Feel Nothing". True, there's some overlap... each song contains one or two expansive and indulgent riffs that stretch out over 3-4-5 bars, as well as a couple of hypnotic, almost industrial-sounding grooves. But the arrangement style differs greatly from song to song.

There are flaws amongst the majesty here, of course. When you have an album that defies convention so consistently, there's bound to be some excess that goes untrimmed. Fortunately, most of that is confined to one song - the exorbitantly convoluted and overwritten "Towards Earth". It's not a bad song, but it contains at least a minute's worth of needless riffage that doesn't really add anything to it. There are also some issues with the production - it took Immolation until their 5th album to discover a balance that did justice to both the atmospheric and technical aspects of their music. Here In After sounds appropriately dark and ugly, but when listened to with headphones, there appears to be somewhat of an incongruity between the guitar and drum sounds - almost like the percussion was recorded with a different overall production in mind. Things don't quite blend as they should. There are also some clarity issues that make the low register progressions a bit difficult to decipher. The whole disc would benefit quite a bit from a remaster.

Still, these flaws are decidedly minor in the context of what's generally a brilliant, innovative, once-in-a-lifetime record. As mentioned, there's a very steep 'learning curve' to fully appreciating it, but once the top of that curve is reached, the album becomes an addiction of the best kind.

Good First Half, Weaker Second Half - 90%

optimuszgrime, March 6th, 2008

Personal favorite. Immolation is a band that can be recognized even if they were cloned, which never seems to happen. Their particular style of riffing is not touched by any one, and not popularized by anyone. Especially the riffing on this album, which involves some odd times and some really weird and creeping, oozing melodies, along with some weird off time shit and intentionally misplaced drums. They create riffs that stick out and fuck your mind.

This album is full of said riffs. There are a couple on each song, but sadly not all songs are alike in goodness, and a couple of fillers can be found. The last three songs in my opinion are mediocre, but the rest of the album is so good that it makes up for it ten fold. So all in all that is the only reason I will not give it the 100%, even though I am very tempted to. It is seriously that good. Those first few songs are just the weirdest, cleanest sounding thing ever. That is another thing about Immolation, they have these illuminating, clear headed observant riffs. I do not know how to describe further, they just seem to come out of the muddled and drudging riffs to whack you upside the head and radiate meaning into the songs. The main riff on ‘I Feel Nothing’ is such an example, or the trem picked high end riff on ‘Nailed To Gold’. It just makes it so fucking awesome, I cannot even begin to describe. Fans of Incantation and other slower death metal bands will love this band, but they probably know them already. I also think this album is better than their previous one, and is a step up, even though that one also fucking slays. But to be honest, I doubt many albums can hang with the first half of this album, and I should not be surprised that they could not keep up to their own standards on the second part of it. Kind of a shame. Still all good songs, just the last few are kinda average, which sticks out on an album that is so fucking good as this one.

A pillar in death metal - 99%

orphy, February 19th, 2008

A long standing figure in death metal, Immolation crafted their own style of death metal quickly in the early days of death metal. After releasing the pummelling debut "Dawn of Possession", Immolation offered their second, and greatest recording. This album is a monumental piece of death metal, as it not only defined the identity of Immolation, but it defied death metal without any frills or gimmicks. "Here In After" still stands as a landmark album today.

Upon listening to this album for the first time, many fans may find the riffs to go over their head. Immolation has this technical flair to them in terms of execution and riff arrangements that is seldom used (and seldom perfected as Immolation does it). Jagged riffs with drum beats that follow in jaggedness barrage the listener from all directions. Bass playing is rhythmic but also follows the madness. And vocally, this band likes bass heavy vocals but with increased annunciation. The result is an album that is challenging to listen to but rewarding in the end.

What makes this album so much different than most other death metal bands is the internal musical workings. Although it contains the needed components of death metal, here the band will use unorthodox approaches. The sense of melody on this album is desolate and unconventional. However, the melodies are composed with such brilliance that they stick in ones head. Vigna will float these overtop of finger twisting riffs. The band uses many nuances in their riffs that make them stand out, and no riff is forgettable. Things like small bends, harmonics, and weird chord formations make them unique but the band does this in a way where everything seems "right".

Songs like "I Feel Nothing" are a great example of how this band can make good hooks that sound evil. The vocals are easy to understand, and they are completely nihilistic and anti-Christian. Immolation crushes all the fallacies of the bible with each song, and shows no remorse. Although it's pretty typical of death metal to have these lyrics, Immolation does it with feeling which puts it above many other bands.

Another thing that helps this album with flow is how the drums work. Although the fast parts are certainly fast, there is lots of room for fills, and this allows the band to easily come into slower tempo parts, which also breathe quite well. Again, that is the advantage of following the riff and being more concerned with feel rather than the perfection. However, Immolation are masters of their craft so perfection is pretty much achieved.

This album certainly stood out amongst the crowd when it came out and still does today. Immolation are one of the few bands that strives to play death metal like this, and do a great job at making original tunes without combining death metal with some random genre.

Here In After - 89%

heavymetalprodigy, October 31st, 2006

Immolation’s core sound is much like a morphed Morbid Angel; just add a thousand odd time signatures, some muddy production and tons of Christ hating blasphemy.

As a collective, Immolation work to blend instruments. Even amidst constant time change they encounter, they stay tight and controlled. “Burn with Jesus” is a nice example. The guitars and hardly audible bass chug away with twisted riffs while the percussion runs with pattern upon pattern.

Bob Vigna and Tom Wilkinson’s guitar tone is akin to early underground death metal, but tuned to C. You can’t really pull the bass out, as it’s buried beneath layers of guitars. And with the muddy production, the guitars get lost sometimes also, which hurts the overall feel of the album a bit. Vigna and Wilkinson love to conjure up jagged, labyrinthine guitar lines and you are going to want to really hear them.

Craig Smilowski works well within the fucked up riffs that Vigna and Wilkinson spawn. He keeps your attention locked with ever increasing variation. He loves the switch up his organization by adding the toms more frequently. But, it’s hard to keep track of his chaotic ideas along with Vigna and Wilkinson. Sometimes you have to wonder how in the hell is he keeping the foundation of these songs?

The band also plays with tempo. All tracks have sections where the band slows it down, and the transitions are perfect.

As for Ross Dolan, there isn’t much for me to say. He does convey emotion to the listener as he screams about the infidelity of Christ, but he doesn’t stamp his voice into your mind. He has the power, but something’s missing.

Here in After takes the abstract ideas that were spawned in death metal early days and weaves it into something that could have only been taken from the deep, dark abyss their minds.

To death metal fan: stop reading and go get this.