Ross Dolan – Immolation

2016 has been a year of firsts and one of these is Immolation coming to Australia for their first ever tour. A timeless band that has been around since the late 80’s, redefining death metal and creating a niche of their own, Ross was in the happiest mood I’ve seen anyone in, in a long time. “I’m great! I’m doing well. It’s been a good day. It has been a busy couple of months. We finished up the new album this June so we’re just finalising mixes and getting that sorted. We also did a bunch of this summer and spring, went on tour with Marduk and also made our first appearance in Iceland at the Eistnaflug festival. Things have been going really well! I think they had moved to this venue it was full, the crowd was amazing, it was a really cool response, it was uncharted waters for us so we didn’t really know what to expect but everything went way better than we hoped! Met a lot of the fans, hanging out, it was a great time, it was a great country, people were super friendly, unique place to play.”

I asked for two words that came to mind when I said the word ‘Australia’ and Ross animatedly, yet promptly replied, ‘Koalas and Kangaroos!’ This is going to be Immolation’s very first time in Australia, and needless to say, the band are beyond excited about coming Down Under. “This has been a long time coming. It is our first time there in our 28 years so we’ve been looking forward to this for ages and athough we had hoped it would be a lot sooner of course, I’m just glad it’s happening finally. We’re all totally stoked. We have a lot of friends who we’ve been in touch with from there for a long time so it’ll be cool to finally meet some of these people face to face and just hang out.  We’re looking forward to four killer shows and one in New Zealand! We’ve also been promised a visit to see some of our furry Australian buddies – I know Dave does it with all the bands because I’ve seen photos of the Origin guys and the Marduk guys cuddling Koalas and I’d be like ‘You bastards!’. We’re excited about that too, for sure.”

Given that this is their first ever tour of the country, fans can definitely expect a treat for the senses when it comes to the set list the band has in mind. “We’ve got 17 songs rehearsed – we’re touching all the records – more off the newer records but we’re going to play something from every one of our albums, because honestly, the hard thing at this point in the game is always picking the songs. We always try to change it and don’t always want to play the same songs, so it keeps things interesting for us and the fans. But we don’t have that problem with Australia because we’ve never played there so we’re going to try and play some of the stronger ones, some of our favourites. We’ll have a nice mixed bag for everyone – old school fans and new ones.” But does this mean, a new track or two perhaps? Why, of course it does! “Oh absolutely, we’re playing one song off of our upcoming release. We played it in Europe so unfortunately it’s no surprise, but you guys do get to hear a brand new Immolation track which we hope you’ll like! Bill’s also really excited to be coming there given that he had to miss the European tour because his girlfriend wasn’t well. He’s in a much better place now and really excited to get back out there with us!”

Immolation’s live shows are a force to be reckoned with and one that every lover of heavy music must experience. “I think that’s really where the band shines: when we play live. It’s where we’re most comfortable and when our energy levels are really high, especially if the crowd is energetic as well. It’ll be a fun, intense performance in Australia. It took us a while to get there, a number of releases and a number of years of experience to become comfortable in a live setting but we’re finally at that point now where we just love it. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy it!”

With a brand new Immolation album on the horizon, Ross was kind enough to share some of the juicy details. “We recorded it in June, at the same studio again [Sound Studios] with our long time producer Paul Orofino and it was mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren, as he has done for the last couple of releases. We also have once again Par Olufsson who has done the cover and the back piece,  as well as another artist from Eastern Europe who is doing song specific pieces of artwork: it’ll have a nice cool, dark look to it. Eleven songs; January is the release date. Long time in the making. We were trying to plan this out for late last year it just didn’t work out, so we just kept at it. A slower process this time for us, end result will be worth the wait. Good blend of the last couple of releases, each song has all those Immolation elements – slow, miserable, heavy, dark parts; fast and dynamic parts; creepy parts with the all the different guitar overlay sections. All the songs will have their own moments.”

The sheer ferocity and dark, powerful atmosphere of Immolation’s music is something that has always captivated me as have the lyrical themes, and track/album titles. “Bob is usually the one who does all the writing. He must have this dark inner secret vault where he pulls out some horrific stuff because I’m always amazed. He’ll just send me something to check out and usually 9 out of 10 times, I’m blown away. I also think the fact that we’ve been doing this for so long – since 1991 to be precise – we kind of lay down a template for what we wanted to convey through our music. We knew we were always more about that dark, haunting feeling; that atmosphere that we try to achieve through the writing. At this point, we know what works and what doesn’t. We’re very critical, we don’t let anything get by that’s kinda just like eh! I think lyrically, this album continues on in the same direction as the last couple of releases, thematically, very similar to Kingdom of Conspiracy. It’s not a theme based album. We have a lot of different flavours and the inspiration comes from the world. It doesn’t take much to kinda pick and choose – choose your news story and there’s a track!”

‘Kingdom of Conspiracy’, out now via Nuclear Blast

Kingdom of Conspiracy was one of my favourite albums of 2013, and in some ways show how Immolation have evolved. Ross shared whether this idea of ‘evolution’ is something Immolation keep in mind when recording, or if it comes spontaneously. “We never start any cycle with any kinds of hopes and expectations other than creating something that we’re happy with. We don’t try to go into the process and consciously change things, that would defeat the purpose so they just kind of grow on their own. Bob doesn’t really know what’s going to come out. But ’til it’s done, it’s a mystery!”

After a long tenure with Listenable Records, 2010’s release of Majesty and Decay saw Immolation move to Nuclear Blast. Here Ross explains if that change of label impacted the sound dynamic of the band? “Up until Majesty, the production always sounded very raw and organic. I wouldn’t say it was the label directly… it would have been behind us regardless of who we chose to do the production, and they did encourage us to look at other options but weren’t pushy about it. Going into this record deal with Nuclear Blast, we wanted to try something completely different. We still wanted to work with Paul [Orifino] (we loved the experience up in Millbrook), so we wanted to continue to use Paul. Further, we wanted to try to and get a different, more evolved sound this time, instead of the underground, dirty low-fi sound that worked for a number of years. Fair enough, I know what it means to be a die-hard fan: everyone regards specific releases to where they were in their life. Music is great like that: it motivates you and gets you through difficult times in your life. I understand the attachment. Artistically, we needed to try something different; find a production that was in the middle of overly produced and under produced. We wanted something that would get that energy out without compromising the style and the essence of what we are. Zack [Ohren] was the man, we’re always tweaking, and it’s all a learning process. We addressed previous issues we had, and so far, so good.”

Ross also took a trip down nostalgia lane and talked about where it all began. “I remember it like it was yesterday. Immolation formed out of Rigor Mortis, in January ’88. I used to hang out and go to shows with the singer/bassist Andrew, and I’d go to the band rehearsals as well. I remember the night our old guitar player, Tom, came to me at my job and asked me if I wanted to join the band. A few days later Bob came home to show me the first Immolation song. For me, it was such a big moment – I was playing in a local thrash band which I wasn’t really happy with so when these guys asked me whether I was in, I said ‘yes’ straight away! We changed the name obviously, out of respect for Andrew, but also because the new band was a lot more progressive. I was excited as hell and it created such a huge impact on me that steered the course of my life.”

Through thick and thin, the band have faced all odds and stuck together for 28 noisy years. Still going as strong as ever and with no plans of holding back on the madness, Ross shared his thoughts on being a part of the journey. “To be honest, I don’t think there’s really a secret to the longevity of the band. But I can say one thing – this isn’t a job to us. It never has been. We’ve always had to work hard and struggle and balance touring, music, etcetera with our personal lives and normal existence. You know, getting into the metal scene in the late 80s, we never had any of those dreams and goals in mind: of becoming a big band and releasing as many records as we could. Maybe just doing a demo and playing lots of local shows, but that’s really it. From there to come to where we are now, I really have no words to describe our journey except that the whole time, we have only remained grounded and focused and I think that that comes from the passion we have, for what we do. We’re still hungry, still like 15-year old kids. Everything – touring, writing new music, playing festivals, meeting other bands, meeting our fans – it’s all still so exciting for us. Of course, it can be overwhelming at times but you kind of have to juggle and balance. It’s never been an income source so we never got complacent. The passion for our art comes from the fire within us and I think that that’s really important for us sticking together.

Ross Dolan had one last message ahead of Immolation wreaking positively brutal havoc across the country. “We’re so excited to come down and finally perform for you guys. We send out our gratitude new and old to those who have been supporting us for 28 years. It’s finally one of those moments where we can finally get down there and show our appreciation for all of you on stage and by doing some of our best shows ever! Looking forward to it, Australia!”

Immolation hit Australia this week for the ‘Touring a World Below’ Australia tour! Presented by Direct Touring, Immolation kick off this Thursday (September 22) at The Rosemount Hotel in Perth.

Tickets: http://directtouring.oztix.com.au/Default.aspx?Event=61446 

Thursday, September 22: Perth – The Rosemount Hotel: Grotesque, Suffer In Rot & Depravity 
Friday, September 23: Melbourne: Max Watts: Astriaal, Nocturnal Graves (Official) & Ignivomous 
Saturday, September 24: Sydney – The Manning Bar: Astriaal & Cruciform 
Sunday, September 25: Brisbane – Crowbar: Astriaal & DISENTOMB 

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