Should we expect a disappointment? No—there’s no reason to, because Immolation rarely miss. And the proof has arrived right on time: Descent, their 12th studio album, is yet another direct hit.
The New Yorkers’ philosophy has always remained the same: tear down every sonic barrier with a technical, dissonant brand of death metal capable of standing out thanks to its razor-sharp precision and devastating impact. They started with Dawn of Possession, reached a staggering peak with Close to a World Below, and slightly eased the intensity on Atonement and Acts of God, which leaned more into melody. That trend is reversed on Descent, which returns to their classic stylistic paths, but in an even more compact and suffocating form—as if the band had decided to strip away every moment of breathing space.
The album opens with These Vengeful Winds, immediately setting the tone with dissonant riffs and a constant sense of tension, more dynamic than it first appears; The Ephemeral Curse follows similar coordinates but with a tighter, more compact structure, while God’s Last Breath slows things down slightly to emphasize a more oppressive, almost solemn atmosphere, with Ross Dolan’s growl particularly commanding; Adversary is short and aggressive, a direct burst with few detours, in contrast to Attrition, which unfolds at a more measured pace with a layered construction, highlighting the twisted guitar work of Robert Vigna and Alex Bouks; Bend Towards the Dark pushes further into darker, more atmospheric territory with more “open” yet still unsettling riffs, followed by Host, which returns to a more technical, fragmented writing style, packed with tempo shifts driven by the outstanding Steve Shalaty; False Ascent plays on the contrast between fast sections and more controlled passages, emerging as one of the most memorable tracks structurally, while “Banished,” an instrumental, serves as a transitional piece leading into the title track—a finale that doesn’t aim for a grand climax but for closure: a heavy, relentless track that encapsulates the entire album.
Straight to the point and executed in the best possible way, as always. Immolation once again deliver without fault, proving how a formula can remain effective while staying fundamentally unchanged. Descent, ultimately, is exactly that: rooted in the past, expressed through the present, and pointing confidently toward a future that, for this band, has never really been in doubt.
