After 5+ years on Metal Blade Records, where they rose from opening act to headliner, New York’s Immolation made an odd decision by leaving the label to join France’s Listenable Records, quickly becoming the label’s number one priority and most high profile band. 2002 brought even more changes, with founding member, guitarist Tom Wilkinson, stepping aside, being replaced by former Angelcorpse guitarist Bill Taylor, marking the first time since the band’s inception in 1988 that Tom wasn’t actively participating in the writing and recording process. There are few constants in life, but one of the few things I’ve always known to depend on is, if Immolation is releasing an album it’s going to be good. Really good. Unholy Cult is no exception to this rule, spewing forth eight brand new tracks of Christ-raping, Church-hating, Religion-battling fury. Bill Taylor is an extremely talented and capable guitarist and handles his role exceptionally well making the line-up change completely seamless. The Immolation sound and approach is completely intact, if you’d heard any of their previous albums, then heard a single riff from Unholy Cult you’d instantly recognize it as being by Immolation. I have to admit that Unholy Cult isn’t as instantly catchy as their past two full lengths, Close To A World Below and Failures For Gods, it’s more complex and technical, more reminiscent of Here In After in that it’s a bit difficult to get into. Once you give the album a few spins and wrap your head around the music all you can do is sit back with your mouth gaping, drool streaming down your cheek, eyes glazed over, completely overwhelmed by the intricacy. This is by far the best death metal album of 2002 created by the single best band in all of death metal. No one can compare to Immolation, they’re one of the most technical bands around, and they play the darkest metal and do things with their instruments that seem unnatural and impossible. Even their live show destroys every other band out there. If you don’t own Unholy Cult you should, you really should, as it’s their best album since Here In After, which, in my opinion, is the godliest album ever recorded. There’s nothing else left to say, if you don’t own this album you’re really missing out on something amazing. Your life cannot be complete without your Immolation collection being complete. Now all I need is that damn DVD…

Written By: Teufel