''Kingdom of Conspiracy'' is the ninth studio album by American
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band
Immolation
Immolation may refer to:
*Death by burning
*Self-immolation, the act of burning oneself
*Immolation (band), a death metal band from Yonkers, New York
*''The Immolation'', a 1977 novel by Goh Poh Seng
*''Dance Dance Immolation'', an interactive per ...
. It was released on May 10, 2013 through
Nuclear Blast Records
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
.
The album is Immolation's first concept album
and was produced by Paul Orofino, who has produced every Immolation album since 1999's ''
Failures for Gods''.
Concept
''Kingdom of Conspiracy'' continues to explore political subject matter rather than the anti-religion topics that dominated the band's earlier releases. Ross Dolan said this is the band's first concept album
and that it was influenced by
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four''.
He described the theme in an interview with Metal Blast:
The album artwork, by Pär Olofsson, also elaborated upon the concept. As guitarist Robert Vigna explained, the figures are shackles with their eyes and mouths sewn shut to represent "the chilling of speech and the intentional blinding of the masses."
Furthermore, the large structure in the background, which Vigna described as "ominous",
symbolized the growth of the
security state
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social g ...
and the consequent failing of existing
social structures
In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...
.
Reception
''Kingdom of Conspiracy'' received positive reviews from music critics. Writing for
About.com, Dave Schalek called the album "essential," praising its "big, baroque songs with atypical, swirling riffs."
Denise Falzon of
Exclaim wrote that the band "push
stheir boundaries with fresh, innovative twists, in order to create albums that build upon their style while remaining distinctly Immolation."
At
Pitchfork, Hank Shteamer called the band "one of the most rewarding veteran acts in the genre" and said that "like their contemporaries
Suffocation
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
and
Incantation, Immolation are currently producing some of the strongest material of their career, an expertly calibrated blend of the byzantine and the straightforwardly brutal, simply by following their own muse."
The album debuted at number 13 on
Billboard's Heatseekers Albums
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart. Immolation's previous album, ''Majesty and Decay'', had debuted at number 29 on the same chart.
Track listing
Personnel
Immolation
* Ross Dolan – vocals, bass
* Steve Shalaty – drums
* Bill Taylor – guitars
* Robert Vigna – guitars
Production
*Zack Ohren – mixing, mastering
*Pär Olofsson – cover art
*Paul Orofino – producer
References
{{Authority control
2013 albums
Immolation (band) albums
Nuclear Blast albums
Albums with cover art by Pär Olofsson