Interview: Ross Dolan of Immolation

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Myself and Ross
Myself and Ross

Just under 3 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with the frontman of the legendary death metal band Immolation. This was quite a big thing for me, I’ve been following the band for over 6 years and to finally get the chance to see them play, let along interview them was huge.

Huge thanks to Claire at Nuclear Blast for organising and Ross for his time :)

You’re currently on tour with Marduk, Origin and Bio-Cancer how’s it been going so far?

Fucking amazing! All the shows so far have been close to selling out and have been really well attended. Even the show last night in Manchester was busy which was surprising given it was a Monday night.

The crowd excitement and enthusiasm has been at a really high level for all the bands even the openers. We’ve got a good mixed package with the Thrash from Bio-Cancer, the tech death metal from Origin, the old school death metal from us and then of course the black metal from Marduk. But it works and it’s a good tour.

The most recent album, Kingdom of Conspiracy, came out around 3 years ago. What’s the response been like when you play these songs live?

The response to that album has been really strong. It was really well received and Nuclear blast promoted the shit out of it. In the US it came out at the best time because we were on the road with Napalm and Cannibal. For us it was kind of a superstar boost which got us playing to great crowds every night. We also did some pretty high-profile one off things but not a lot of stuff in Europe.

We didn’t do as much as we liked but we that will change with the new album out in November. So expect some more tours and a return here hopefully quicker than last time!

That leads nicely onto the next question as I’d heard you were working on new album.

That’s correct yeah. We’ve got 11 songs that are pretty much ready musically and after this tour we head into the studio mid-June to record. The labels thinking around November for a release time. I’d say it’s got all the elements of Kingdom and Majesty along with some of the earlier stuff. It’s much darker than the previous but we’re confident that folk will dig it.

We’re doing it with Zach Ohren again and at Millbrook where we did the last 7 records. We love working him and we always like the results.

Coming onto the production of the albums, there was a bit of a ‘Shift’ per se around the time of Majesty. Was there a specific reason behind it?

Well, we had signed with Nuclear Blast and they were like: “Maybe you should change it up a bit”. We know with the earlier records they lacked a bit in the production as they were more raw and organic. That was what we were going for at the time and we figured for the new stuff we should step it up a bit. The label mentioned Zach to us and he was really affordable and very easy to work with. After we did Majesty with him we decided to stick with him. He did the EP with us and also did Kingdom which we were very happy with. He’s also really looking forward to trying out some new things for the album so we’re all excited for it.

Immolation Kingdom Of ConspiracyNow the band has been going for just over 28 years now. You probably get asked this question a lot, but why have you guys not gone full time with the band?

 Well, it’s a very difficult industry to make any money in. You know, we do ok on tour but you gotta remember now that it took us 15 years to come home with anything in our pocket. So it’s not the type of thing you can fall into and say: “Hey! I’m going to do this and live well.” Hell no! We were realistic from the beginning so we knew this wasn’t the type of thing you do for money. We’re at the point now that we at least make some money on the road and the records sell decent enough that we can recoup the costs and make some on top.

With this new album however, we’re going to be doing a lot more stuff. After this tour and the studio time, we’re heading over to Iceland and then to Europe for festivals. After that we’re doing Australia and New Zealand, and then the album will come out. So all that is pre-emptive shit and then we start the cycle for the album. So, we’ve a busy year!

Now, what sort of gear do you use when you play live?

 Well here we use whatever we have and I can dial in a bass tone on pretty much anything now. Back home, I use old Mesa 2×15’s and 2×10’s which I’ve had since the late 80’s and they’ve done ever US tour and every album. I play out a GK 700RB which I got a couple of years ago. I used to have a 800 which I had for like 20 years but it finally took a shit and died! They’re solid and sound really good.

In terms of basses, I use Ibanez soundgears. I’ve been playing them since ’88 and they’re really comfortable. They have a nice design and are really comfortable to play for me. I don’t like having crazy shapes or anything, just a simple design which is light works for me!

Bob uses a Peavy Triple X head and Bill plays out a dual rectifier head. They’ve been using Vader cabs since late 2007 and they sound really good.

My final question now, what advice would you give to a band that’s just coming up in the scene?

 Probably the best advice I can give is to have fun with it and do it for the right reasons. If you’re thinking of getting into it as a good earner then forget it. Always have a plan B. Always have like your day job or school or something because it’s a very difficult business.

We were lucky when we got in as it was right at the beginning. There was just a small amount of bands but that was 30 years ago. It’s a different story for us but over the years I’ve noticed that it’s got a lot harder to find something new.

Trying to develop your identity as a band is key. Coming out there and just relying on your influences and emulating them is cool for the local scene. However, when you come out there you’ve got to have your own unique sound otherwise you’ll get tossed aside. There’s a lot of bands that sound the same so trying to create something unique is key.

Immolation: Official| Facebook | Twitter

Immolation are currently working on a brand new studio album which is due for release this summer via Nuclear Blast. Stay tuned for more details…

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