November 4 2002

The Headstones

The Oracle of Hi-Fi

Maple Music 2002

KakKK

The Oracle of Hi-Fi is the
Headstones fifth studio album,
and though it lacks the polish
of their previous release
(Nickels for Your Nightmares),
it is some their best work in
years. Released this year by
MapleMusic Recordings, this
record is what Headstones
fans have been waiting for. In
this CD the Headstones con-
tinue to pump out the kind of
hard-hitting rock that has
made the popular. Though not
all the tracks are examples of
their best work, this album is
definitely worth buying.

-Dave

| Rating Guide

| & Oh God.My spine!

| *&* It's OK. Just OK.
kk Pretty Good
k&kkx* Dude! Sweet!
*kkkkk The Nuns of
Our lady of Perpetual
Motion Catholic School
think you should buy
this CD. Then wash
your ears. You filth
Progle poy: /

Immolation are very much
an underground band. They’re
been building up their fan base
with constant touring, and a
string of strong releases, and
their latest album Unholy Cult
is earning them new fans
already, since I’m one of them.

Immolation formed in New
York in 1988, the same city

known gothic serenaders, and
personal favourites of
Immolation, Type O Negative.

Unlike Type O however,
Immolation have always
stayed close to their under-
ground spawning almost 15
years later. “Kids respect that.
We get better, but hold true
and stay in touch with the
underground,” Ross Dolan
(vocals and bass) muses. And
it's true, although they're fine
tuned their sound over the
years, Immolation haven't
taken any artistic left turns,
prefering instead to pump out
some brutally heavy but
engaging death metal, sup-
porting themselves the old
fashioned way, touring. But
why would anyone want to
tour, and face the rigors of the
road?

“We're more of live band, we
shine there,” Dolan explains,
“its spontaneous and when
the crowds are on, we really
get into it 110%. We love tour-
ing and hitting the road. The
essence of any band is the live
show, it’s where it counts, so
we try to tour as much as we
can, we can play new material
and make a few new fans

that churned out the greater.

every time we come through.”

The new material on Unholy
Cult lives up to Immolation’s
reputation as writers of crush-
ingly heavy metal. “We don’t
put much thought in, we just

try to do our best. We write
what we enjoy, but we’re really
picky. There’s only 8 songs on
the new album, but that’s the
best of what we have, we get it
to where it needs to be.” Dolan

Pic courtesy of Century Media
Immolation’s Bass player and vocalist, Ross Dolan on Immolation’s
own brand of death metal: “We’re not about being the most brutal,
the fastest or the heaviest. There’s a lot of variation, and if you lis-
ten a few times, there’s stuff that you don’t catch right away, but it
may not necessarily appeal to you right off the bat.”

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Over The Edge Page 9

responded when | quizzed him
about the latest material.
“Unholy Cult is our shining
moment, our best release, the
music, lyrics and production
are a step above what we’ve
done previously. Nothing fights
with each other, the dynamics
are all there, everything is fast
moving, interesting and twist-
ed.”

Twisted does describe their
sound, it’s dark, menacing,
sinister, epic and dark to sum
up Dolan’s own description of
Immolation, but the best thing
about Immolation as far as I’m
concerned is their depth.
“We're not about being the
most brutal, the fastest or the
heaviest. There’s a lot of varia-
tion, and if you listen a few
times, there’s stuff that you
don’t catch right away, but it
may not necessarily appeal to
you right off the bat.”

Immolation’s music has
matured since their last album,
2000’s Close to a World
Below, it’s a bit more complex
and experimental than the
average death metal release,
but how will Immolation’s fans
respond to a more refined
album? “We’re mentally in a
different place now, but we
know what direction and path
we’re on. The new album has a
little bit of everything.’ Dolan
answers, “Our fans are really
supportive. You really love us
or you really hate us, but the
diehard fans are a key factor in
our success.”