In early 1988, when New York-based death metal band Immolation came into being , the music industry was a very different beast. The band sent out demo tapes to music labels and magazines. This was before the Internet was all-pervasive and demo tapes, paper ads and similar techniques were the only means for a new band to market and showcase its skills.
"It was the manual version of the internet. We used snail mail to communicate and talk about our music, " point out band members Ross Dolan and Robert Wigna. In the three decades since, Immolation has headlined at numerous rock music festivals, released 10 full-length albums, and commands a fan base that extends across the world. The band was in Bengaluru recently to perform at a rock music festival. Elaborating on their musical journey, the duo says, "It was a point of time when Metal was emerging as a popular genre of music. There were bands from across the world, each with a different sound and style. It was an interesting time to start out. We used to connect with fellow musicians and fans on regular mail, sending across records and so on. We were inspired by bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It was word of mouth publicity and passion of both the bands and the listeners that shaped the metal genre in those days." The rise of the internet changed the industry. " It was a major shift. Suddenly, there were many more bands and music was no longer restricted by the limitations of geography. The music was no longer unique. However, you could put up your music online, conduct a show live for an audience across the world and communicate easily with the fans."
Ross and Robert do not feel that the availability of content for free online will impact them much. "Of course, some listeners would want to listen to us on Spotify or Youtube. However, most metal fans are passionate about their music and will be keen on collecting items such as the old vinyl records, the lyrics to the songs, the CDs and Blu-rays etc. We feel that as long as the music reaches a larger audience, our job as musicians is done. The physical products remain very popular even in this time and age. Moreover, nothing beats the experience of watching a performance live. The internet helps us connect with fans better. Some of our closest friends started out as our fans."
On writing and performing on themes related to religion and politics, the duo points out, " We use our music to take a look at the dark side of humanity and what could be done to fix it. Politics does occasionally play a small role. However, we are focussed on the issues faced by humanity broadly."