Immolation - Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn [Compilation] (1995)

Formed in May 1986 by Andrew Sakowicz (bass, vocals & guitar) and Dave Wilkinson (drums) under the name of Rigor Mortis, which, two years later, changed to Immolation, after releasing the demo Warriors of Doom (which they recorded while still Rigor Mortis) and Demo I which they recorded using the name of Immolation.

The band used to rehearse in Cleveland, Ohio where Steve Shalaty (drums since 2003) lived with the three New York-based band members making the 14-hour round trip. They stopped this practice around 2010 and currently only play together at live shows.

Since the release of their debut album “Dawn of Possession” (Roadrunner) in 1991, Immolation has been paving their way down an ever evolving path of uncompromising musical devastation! Never a band to rely on their previous efforts, Immolation has continued album after album to refine and hone their most identifiable style and sound, creating some of the darkest and most adventurous death metal the scene has ever heard.

Robert Vigna has been the only guitarist that has lasted the longest in the band, along with vocalist / bassist Ross Dolan. Robert Vigna is considered one of the most talented guitarists in death metal and is known for his complex riffs and his very screeching and high-pitched solos.

 

-Tracklist:

  

 1.     Relentless Torment     02:09    
2.     Holocaust     04:58
3.     Rigor Mortis     02:26    
4.     Warriors of Doom     05:18    
5.     Immolation     04:30    
6.     Dawn of Possession     03:45    
7.     Internal Decadence     03:02    
8.     Burial Ground     03:39    
9.     Despondent Souls     04:32    
10.     Infectious Blood     04:08    
11.     Despondent Souls (1990)     04:28
12.     Burial Ground (live)     03:40    
13.     Infectious Blood (live)     04:34    
14.     Immolation (live)     04:29    
15.     Despondent Souls (live)     04:36    
16.     Dawn of Possession (live)     11:30

 

-Line up:

• Tom Wilkinson: Guitars (rhythm) • Ross Dolan: Bass, Vocals (tracks 5-16) • Robert Vigna: Guitars  

 • Neal Boback: Drums (tracks 5-10, 12-16)

 

Label: Repulse Records.

 Tracks 1, 2 & 3 from their '87 Decomposed demo (as Rigor Mortis).
Track 4 from their '88 Warriors of Doom demo (as Rigor Mortis).
Tracks 5 & 6 from their '88 demo.
Tracks 7, 8 & 9 from their '89 Immolation demo. Track 10 was also recorded during the same '89 session, but the band only included three songs on the demo.
Track 11 recorded in January 1990 for the first At Death's Door compilation, but due to the timing of that record's release, the song didn't appear.
Tracks 12-16 live tracks recorded around '88-'89.
Track 16 is extra long because it's actually three tracks in one. After "Dawn of Possession" finishes, another track starts around 3:40, which is actually a live cover of Autopsy's "Charred Remains" from their 1988 demo Critical Madness, followed by a live cover of Sepultura's "Morbid Visions" that starts at about 7:45.

 The cover of this cd was actually made for the "Dawn of possession" album, but the band rejected it, because they felt that it didn't match the particular mood and feeling they were looking to.

 05.02.2014 Sala Berlín, Ourense (Esp)