Majesty And Decay

Majesty and Decay was Immolation’s eighth album, and their lineup had been steady for a few records — second guitarist Bill Taylor had been in place since their fifth, 2002’s Unholy Cult, and drummer Steve Shalaty had joined on the follow-up, 2005’s Harnessing Ruin. Those albums were just okay, but Majesty is a monster. The music has the pervasive but resolutely un-theatrical gloom that’s their sonic trademark; this is Gothic death metal with a capital G, because it’s not about black clothes and face paint, it’s about songs that are as vast and immovable as cathedrals. Even the fast songs do their work with glacial patience, but it’s the slow ones, like “A Glorious Epoch,” that really leave a mark. Immolation don’t even seem like they want you to bang your head; they want to crush you under.