2022 is barely underway and the badly mistreated AMG Score Safety Counter is already reeling from numerous body blows and headshots. That either means the AMG staff is composed of chronically overrating bastards or the year is off to a really good start, probably a bit of both. February had its share of high points and some will likely reappear on the year-end listery. Allow us to refresh your recollection as to what was shaking and baking back in those crazy days of February, which seem so long ago (because this piece is way late).
What can you say about Immolation that hasn’t been said already over their highly successful and startingly consistent run of albums beginning in 1991. No death metal act has been as reliably great for so long, and 11th album Acts of God shows the state of their infernal union is strong. Their carefully curated sound is still massive and terrifying, and their style is still capable to crushing your soul even as it excites your inner demons. Dissonance plays of hooks and strong writing to deliver another slab of dense ugliness that somehow feels listenable and weirdly addictive. As our resident expert in ugly things Ferrous Beuller opined, “Immolation have learned to compound their basic formula for increasingly galvanized results. And results like Acts of God are hard to deny. Any fan of the band or genre will find plenty to swoon over here, and those that don’t are, frankly, trying too hard.” Don’t be a try hard and don’t resist Acts of God.
Runner(s) Up: