If brutal death metal is your bag then you will certainly have heard of this legendary band. Formed in 1989, they were among the leaders of the New York Death Metal scene along with the more widely known Suffocation and Immolation. The band has went through more line up changes than most and now features only one original member John Mc Entee (Vocals/Guitars). This is their 9th album and the first in six years which is quite a gap even by Incantation’s standards (although there were eps during the interim). With a revolving door policy on members, one would expect a dip in consistency with their output; this is not the case. From opener “Invoked Infinity” it is down to the business of old school death metal, solid riffs with the unmistakeable deep gutturals of Mc Entee. The first thing that struck me about this record is the natural sound that it has, a lot of modern death metal albums are so clinical sounding with near perfect separation in the mix. With Incantation you can almost hear the filth spilling from one mic into another. “Transcend into Absolute Dissolution” slows the pace down into the sewer where the likes of Autopsy dwell, tortured slow riffs with pinch harmonics and drawn out painful vocals. Incantation were one of the first bands to master the slow/ fast dynamic before it became popular to do so. Never leaving behind their underground feel, the band failed to elevate to the league of the big players; however they retained the integrity and respect that the likes of Morbid Angel lost. Along with Immolation they are still among the most unique American Death Metal bands and prove it time and time again with solid albums of startling aggression. The production gives the impression that a lot of the music was recorded with the band staring one another down and playing together as a team, as opposed to being stitched together from hundreds of takes on pro tools. Leave to the side just for a moment the hyper blast death metal of modern times and step back and experience honest, raw, evil and real death metal.
8/10
LINE-UP
John McEntee – Guitar Vocals
Kyle Severn – Drums
Alex Bouks – Lead Guitar
Chuck Sherwood – Bass
Tracklisting
Invoke Infinity
Ascend into Eternal
Progeny of Tyranny
Transcend into Absolute Dissolution
Haruspex
Vanquish in Vengeance
Profound Loathing
The Hellions Genesis
From Hollow Sands
Legion Of Dis