IMMOLATION — Harnessing Ruin

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IMMOLATION - Harnessing Ruin cover
3.86 | 15 ratings | 2 reviews
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Album · 2005

Filed under Death Metal
By IMMOLATION

Tracklist

1. Swarm of Terror (3:14)
2. Our Savior Sleeps (3:36)
3. Challenge the Storm (3:56)
4. Harnessing Ruin (4:30)
5. Dead to Me (5:18)
6. Son of Iniquity (6:06)
7. My Own Enemy (6:45)
8. Crown the Liar (4:53)
9. At Mourning's Twilight (5:15)

Total Time: 43:38

Line-up/Musicians

- Ross Dolan / Bass, Vocals
- Bill Taylor / Guitar
- Robert Vigna / Guitar
- Steve Shalaty / Drums

About this release

Full Length, 5 February 2005, Listenable

Thanks to SKwid, UMUR for the updates



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IMMOLATION HARNESSING RUIN reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

UMUR
"Harnessing Ruin" is the sixth full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Immolation. The album was released through Listenable Records in February 2005. It´s the successor to "Unholy Cult" from 2002 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Alex Hernandez has been replaced by Steve Shalaty.

Stylistically there are few surprises if you´re already familiar with the last couple of albums by the band, as this is unmistakably the sound of Immolation. Twisted dissonant riffs, creative leads, labyrinthical drum patters, anti-christian/blasphemous lyrics, and cavernous deep growling vocals. This is through and through the sound of Immolation. That also means an adventurous approach to composing death metal that is quite unique. While the band certainly have core elements which they use on every track, the songs aren´t always linear and they can be quite challenging listens.

Being as consistent in style as Immolation are does have the side-effect that "Harnessing Ruin" feels like more of the same though (despite the twists and turns of each track), and as the sound production is on the thin side lacking a bit of heavy bottom (the guitars are a bit powerless sounding, and the drums thin and clicky sounding), it´s not among the most remarkable releases in the band´s discography. The quality of the songwriting and the high level musicianship are still redeeming factors, so a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved, which of course speaks volumes about the generally high quality of Immolation´s output.
Nightfly
It just goes to show how important it is how you listen to your music. Until recently Harnessing Ruin was the only Immolation album not in my collection. I always intended to get it one day for completions sake but until I finally bought it I’d only ever heard it on the computer through crappy speakers or headphones and felt it to be one of their less essential albums. Having had the opportunity to crank it up on a good Hi-Fi, it proved to be a revelation with the sound really opening up and my opinion has changed considerably.

Released in 2005 it was on the tails of two of Immolations most highly regarded albums – Close To a World Below and Unholy Cult. Whilst it doesn’t reach the heights of those two classics it‘s more than a worthy follow up. By Immolation standards at least it’s a bit of an easier listen for the uninitiated than the last two, though of course this being immolation we’re talking relatively speaking. Whilst the sound here is generally a bit denser and muddier and there’s still plenty of their trademark dissonance on display but musically its slightly more melodic and accessible. Robert Vigna still manages to conjure up some incredible off the wall riffs aided by second guitarist Bill Taylor with new drummer Steve Shalaty, who remains with them to this day, filling Alex Hernandez’s shoes admirably as he lays the foundations for all the rhythmic twists and turns you’d expect from these death metal geniuses. Ross Dolan’s low register growl is another instantly recognisable factor, his bass is more felt than to the fore but none the worse for it. Whilst there are no particular stand out tracks it’s a measure of overall quality than weakness and it’s fair to say that in a career that goes back to the early nineties they have yet to release a bad album.

Harnessing Ruin still wouldn’t make my favourites list of Immolation albums but it is up against some pretty stiff competition and whilst not the best place to start in exploring them (for that why not try latest release Atonement) is more than worth a listen.

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