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Incantation: Vanquish in vengeance
10/12/12 || gk
It’s been six long years since the last Incantation album and a lot has happened to death metal since then. A whole legion of bands inspired by Incantation have been making their mark on the genre and main man John McEntee has kept busy with Goreaphobia and Funerus. So, six years since the completely unremarkable “Primordial domination”, what can Incantation bring to the table?
On “Vanquish in vengeance” the band sounds fresh and energetic. You wouldn’t think of this as being the work of a band more than twenty years old. There’s a drive and sense of purpose to most of the songs here that is impressive and the sound is powerful and clear. There’s also just a hint of McEntee and the band stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something a little bit different. The first really impressive bit comes about 2.20 into the second song “Ascend into the eternal” with a superb melodic doom riff and when McEntee comes in on that growl it finally feels like the ghost of Craig Pillard can be laid to rest. Classic Incantation, mixing some super death metal with crawling riffs and this is just one awesome song. Title song “Vanquish in vengeance” is the mid-point separator on the album and a solid song in its own right starting off in aggressive fashion before playing around with tempos for a powerful effect. The real surprise on the album though is “Profound loathing”. There’s a pounding, ritualistic atmosphere to this song and the riffs over the verses are almost melancholic in nature with Kyle Severn pulling off some very interesting drumming. The album closes with another lengthy track in “Legion of dis” which fully embraces the doom-death sound and finishes things off in fittingly bleak fashion.
The band sounds great here. They’re helped with a top notch production job. The sound is clear and distinct without losing any of the band’s old school charm and most importantly, the song writing is of a consistently high quality. McEntee and Alex Bouks turn in some seriously good riffs and again, their ability to shift tempos and keep things suffocatingly heavy is on full display here. The rhythm section of Kyle Severn and Chuck Sherwood is impressive to say the least. Severn in particular turns in a performance that is unpredictable, entertaining and rock solid while Sherwood’s bass tone is clear and he’s allowed a few spots through the album where his playing really shines.
This is one impressive return for Incantation. The classic sound of the first three albums is present but updated and the band throws in a few new tricks to keep the punters guessing. “Vanquish in vengeance” is a welcome return to form for Incantation and hopefully marks a new chapter for the band.
- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Listenable Records
- Website: Incantation Facebook
- Band
- John McEntee: vocals, guitars
- Alex Bouks: guitars
- Chuck Sherwood: bass
- Kyle Severn: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Invoked Infinity
- 02. Ascend into the Eternal
- 03. Progeny of Tyranny
- 04. Transcend into Absolute Dissolution
- 05. Haruspex
- 06. Vanquish in Vengeance
- 07. Profound Loathing
- 08. The Hellions Genesis
- 09. From Hollow Sands
- 10. Legion of Dis
