Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

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The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Immolation
Title
Harnessing Ruin
Type
LP/EP
Company
Listenable
YOR
2005
Style
Death
4/1/2005 - Review by: Axeman
IMMOLATION- HARNESSING RUIN - 2005 - Listenable Records

Track Listing

01. Swarm of Terror
02. Our Savior Sleeps
03. Challenge the Storms
04. Harnessing Ruin
05. Dead to Me
06. Son of Iniquity
07. My Own Enemy
08. Crown the Liar
09. At Mourning’s Twilight
Immolation is a band that have earned my respect. They've been around for about fifteen years and honed a death metal style that is unique in the genre of a million copy-cat bands. When you hear this band's music, you instantly know who it is. Funny statement, but it's getting harder and harder to make such a claim in this day-in-age.

The first thing I noticed about "Harnessing Ruin" is that the tunes sound a bit more "controlled". In the world of extreme metal this could be a death sentence, but I think it helps Immolation's music become more listenable. The wacked-out quirky playing on the previous albums always caused me to raise an eyebrow but sometimes went a bit overboard. Don't get me wrong, this album is not some huge change of style. It's more like the few loose ends that bogged their previous works down were all finally addressed on this grand opus.

Unlike many death albums that take multiple spins to grow on me, "Harnessing Ruin" hit me like a ton of bricks. From the opening blaster "Swarm Of Terror", to the unrelenting title track, down to the epic closer "At Mourning's Ruin", I sat enthralled at how this goup of die-hards have taken their music to new heights with each and every new release. Make no mistake, Immolation are still as dark and evil as ever. So dark in fact that even the melodic sections sound foreboding, yet at the end of the day it's the diversity that makes it a much more interesting listen that their previous works. Simply put, this is quality, high-class death metal and is a must have for any fan of the genre.

Axeman

  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    N/A :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: IMMOLATION
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Atonement
2017
Nuclear Blast
David Loveless3/15/2017
4
Harnessing Ruin
2005
Listenable
Axeman4/1/2005
-
Majesty and Decay
2010
Nuclear Blast
Ben McCraw7/20/2010
5
Shadows in the Light
2007
Century Media
Etiam12/19/2007
4
Unholy Cult
2002
Metal Blade
Nate Turpin2/27/2003
-

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: IMMOLATION
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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