Immolation in Concert
There are great death metal bands, and then there are true OGs. Immolation is both. Hailing from Yonkers, New York, the group found its roots as Rigor Mortis, a gritty, early death metal group that gained traction in the metal world from 1986 to 1988. After disbanding, founding members Dave Wilkinson and Robert Vigna teamed up with Ross Dolan and formed Immolation.
Releasing a few demos over the next several years, Immolation developed a following in the burgeoning underground death metal scene, eventually signing with Roadrunner Records to release their debut studio LP, ‘Dawn of Possession.' The record was a bold foray into death metal, which was still in its early years as a genre. In 1995, the band leveled up by signing to revered label Metal Blade Records, releasing a number of punishing, challenging death metal albums over the next decade. For most of the ‘90s and early ‘00s, the band was vehemently anti-religion in their song lyrics, but they had a change of heart after 9/11, coming to channel their darkness in other ways.
Immolation started really breaking through in 2010, receiving awards and accolades with the excellent, fiery ‘Majesty and Decay,' which caught the attention of numerous big publications and debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.
Their follow-up, 2013's ‘Kingdom of Conspiracy,' earned strong reviews. Critics said that the veteran rockers had hit a powerful new stride. ‘Kingdom of Conspiracy' debuted at No. 13 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. Their 2017 ripper, ‘Atonement,' also received praise from sites like Metal Sucks, Consequence of Sound, and Pitchfork. Many reviewers noted the album's impressive anthems, technical complexity, and undeniable place in death metal history. Exclaim! ranked it on their list of best metal and hardcore albums of the year.
The iconic band joins Morbid Angel for East Coast dates in March 2019.