IMMOLATION for many years have been adding to the death metal scene releases, that stand proud in between the best of the genre. Right from the very start with the classic "Dawn Of Possession", through "Here In After", "Failures For Gods" and "Close To A World Below" the guys have shown they never dry out of fresh ideas and their great determination to get and stay on the top. The upcoming "Unholy Cult" is said to be yet another proof for the greatness of the band. We asked about the new album and not only Bob:

1. You have recently signed a new record deal with Olympic Records. What where the main reasons that forced that change on the band after 3 great albums out ? What are your expectations of the new recent deal ?
     Metal Blade just did not have any belief in the band and never really did much for us. So now we are with Olympic in the US and Listenable Records in Europe. We are very happy as both labels are 100% into the band, they are into the new album and they want to push us as much as they can. This is what we needed for a long time , so we are looking forward to October when "Unholy Cult" is released!

2. As we're all awaiting this year's fall for Your new album to appear I'd like to ask You, how are things going - is everything well and under control?
     Oh the album is done and ready to go. We recorded it in May and have just put the last touches on the packaging. The promos should be going out in the next few weeks. "Unholy Cult" is the best album we have ever done! It is dark, heavy and intense, yet very emotional, musical and carries a lot of atmosphere. The production is phenominal and it is beyond powerful!

3. Following all Your very much in-the-christian-face lyrics, I wonder, what is it really that inspires You most and makes/helps You put so much anger and hatred towards God into Your music and lyrics with such brilliant effects?
     We like to use the personifications of good and evil to make a point. They is a mysterious feel to it which fits the darkness of the music. If you look at our lyrics closely, especially on the new album, the words are much more broad and relate to many other things besides religion. Our music has expanded, and so have our lyrics. They are still extremely strong and direct, yet they reflect a lot of what is going on in the world today. These our definitely our best lyrics. They really drive the songs and draw the emotion out of you.

4. Did You have any censorship troubles with Your great album covers in the past in any country at all ? Do You have the graphics part ready for the Unholy Cult album and if so can You tell us anything about it ?
     No we have never had any problems with censorship. The new cover is very dark,.Andreas Marschall has once again created a true masterpiece of art. Our concepts were quite symbolic for the cover and if you read through the lyrics you will catch many references to the artwork. They tie together very well.

5. Having singed with the European Listenable Records are we to expect a long European live shows list, promoting Unholy Cult and can we expect to see You guys in Poland ripping off some angel wings ? What bands would You be most probably touring with in Europe ? Any fixed dates ?
     Right now we are confirmed for the December X-mas Fests. It will crush for sure!!!! We also have some plans for a full headlining tour early next year, so keep your eyes open for that one! We will get a really good package together. There is a good possibility that we will have a large amount of dates in Poland this time too!

6. As we've touched the live shows subject... how is it that You recall the Polish fans as one of the most rabid ones (side by side with South American fans), what do You remember most about the Polish scene and Your time spent there ?
     Yes, it was great,..very intense! We hope to do many shows in Poland in 2025! Some of the best shows have taken place in Poland for us!

7. Are There any Polish bands, that You're aware of and would like to share a show with or better - share a tour with ?
     Well,..Vader! haha We are actually touring together with them here in the US in November, and it should be a lot of fun. Those guys are great! Also Decapitated,..we saw them here in NY when they played here. Also very cool guys.

8. We all know how difficult it is to make a living out of music. Still, some bands manage to do so, mainly giving their souls away to music easily accessible for the mass media and stuff... What do You guys think of letting down the fans that way... and have You ever thought of a possibility of making music for the money?
     If I could make music for money I would do it in a second! Hahaha Obviously though we do IMMOLATION, so it is very hard! Haha We believe in making our music the strongest possible. We like to please our oldest fans, and we also would like to get new fans too, but we must also please ourselves. The way we go about this is to do it naturally. Very rarely do bands try and push the limits. There either go completely commercial or give up. To us this music is very strong and has much potential. We know that if we stick to our roots and create good music that is real and natural, ..it will catch on! People out there that are not familiar with Death/Black metal would definitely get interested in it if they heard something that was done well and they could relate to it. They are never really exposed to many good bands. We believe this style of music, if done right, definitely has the potential to get even bigger. We believe in it, we've been doing it for 15 years now,! and we continue to get more intense and better as we go. That's what it is about, staying true to your music.
     You can sell out and make money, I can see that as good that you make money. But if you are playing music that you are not into, I just couldn't see myself doing that. Hell I would do it on the side with some other band if they needed help! I could use the money for our band! Haha But when it comes to our music, when it comes to IMMOLATION it has to be true, that's the only way.

9. Can You still recall the days, when releasing "Dawn Of Possession", IMMOLATION became a world wide known band, just like that... what where Your sort of first thoughts, reactions those days - that must have changed Your lives in some way - did it ?
     Well, we were pretty well known before the album came out, with the demos. Then we toured Europe soon after and the album took off. It was agreat feeling,.but even today we have not lost that desire. We still have the desire, passion and dedication to our music. We are more focused than ever before and we love to progress the band in a positive direction. We know we just keep making better albums with each release. To us this is a great accomplishment in itself.

10. How is it, that following the same path for about fourteen years, You managed not to bore yourself nor the fans keeping every consecutive album so much damn heavier, darker and always fresh as any brand new album should be ? I suppose the "Unholy Cult" will kick even harder on God's ass !
     Oh,..it will destroy I assure you!!!!!!! That is our goal with each release,.to make something better than before, something fresh,..and I know we accomplish this. It is because we care about our music and our fans. "Unholy Cult" is by far our best album yet, and definitely takes this style much further than you've heard before. It is not only dark and heavy, but it is very musically done,.a lot of intertwined parts and layers, a lot of emotion. You just have to hear it. It is truly unique and sounds like nothing else. There is a tone and dimension on "Unholy Cult" that just has a special identity. You will be blown away!!!

11. Are there many sort of leftovers after Your recording sessions, of tracks that You think at that time are not good enough for the record ? And if so, is there a chance we could ever get to know any of those ?
     No. We write until we have the album complete. If we do not use a part, then it will never be used. We actually get songs together and play them for a couple of days, and then at some point we realize that it is not working. So we scratch the whole song and start over again. Then when we had all the songs done, me and Ross went through each one and fine tuned them, making sure that we were 100% positive and happy with everything we had. This way once we got into the studio it would go very smooth. We then would add more ideas while in the studio to enhance the parts.

12. What are Your plans for the time you got between the end of the recording sessions, and the beginning of the promotion tour ?
     We are just working our day jobs now. We will start rehearsing soon for the tours and getting some new material together for the next record. Next year you will be seeing a lot of IMMOLATION, and we want to keep it that way! Haha!

13. I wonder how much did the last year's bombing and the tragedy of so many innocent people fed Your anger to express through Your music & lyrics or did You have the material ready by then?
     Oh we were very bitter and angry. So we had a lot on our minds that did in fact make it into our new cd. We made a lot of good points and vented a lot of anger from all that has been and continues to take place today.

14. Where will all this religion fanatics terrorism lead the world to You think, do You know a way to stop it all ?
     It has to be defeated at some point. These people are sick and mentally twisted. They have no respect for themselves or anyone else. They are not helping the world that is for sure and I hope the world continues to unite against them.

15. Say "hello" to Jesus...
     Hi Jesus!

16. What would be the strangest thing that's happened to You on the road..?
     Oh we have had some pretty strange things. Every tour is an adventure. That's what we love about it. You could almost die one day in a car accident,..and then you might get detained in the Austrian border patrol station for hours almost getting caught with drugs that are not yours,..there are always close calls. But it comes with the territory.

17. Is there a country you'd never want to play for some reason ?
     Well I'm sure there are many countries that we could not play as they just don't deal with music in that nature. As far as we are concerned we love to travel and play where ever we can.

18. Could You tell us in a couple of words, what do You understand by the "God" word, meaning the god you sing obout... there're many people that put the "satanism" sticker on everything that says "god sucks"...
     We are obviously not satanists of any kind. That is a religion too you know. We believe in ourselves and we try and relate the same message to everyone in our music. You can take it any way you want, but when we say "god" we are referrring to all gods, all icons of supposed greatness. Our songs may have an antichristian overtone, but they often deal with religion in general, and as I may have mentioned earlier, they usually can releate to other things that have nothing to do with religion at all.

19. Do you guys have any hobbies, you'd like to share a word about...?
     Not really.

20. Are there bands, that you could say, that disappointed You in any way ? What was that ?
     I'll keep that to myself! haha

21. The worst album you ever got to listen to ?
     There are a lot of those! haha

22. Do you listen much to death metal music, or rather concentrate on other styles of music ?
     I listen to a lot of other music as well as death metal. I listen to everything, as long as I like it I don't care what kind of music it is. It depends on what mood I'm in. I am inspired by all music, and I think that being open minded helps you to create more in your own music. Most of us in the band listen to everything from Bjork and Tori Amos, to Ulver and The Gathering, to Incantation and Wolfen Society. Whatever works for you...

23. What do You think of bands covering other band's songs... and getting big on someone else's work... Anyway, it's kind of cool, in my opinion, to give out to the fans a new version a some older song... not to be the best song on the album though, hehehe! If You got to chose a cover song - what would that be?
     Well we did "Satan's Fall" by Mercyful Fate on the Listenable compilation a couple of years back,.that was cool. I don't know what we would do. I never think of covers for this band, it's just not something we like to do.

24. You've got a week to do whatever you please, just anything... what would that be?
     Travel,..I like to travel!

Thank You very much for taking the time to answer those questions. I'd like to wish You all the best, a huge album premiere and tremendous tour gigs. We all hope to see You around. Would You like to say something to end this interview?
     Thanks a lot for the cool interveiw, we appreciate it a lot and look forward to seeing you out on the road!! Look for "Unholy Cult" in October and expect to see a lot of IMMOLATION starting in November!!!!
Best regards!!!!!
Bob


Immolation
email: [email protected]
http: www.immolationdirect.com