Entertainment Earth

6/29/2023

Death Metal Legends Incantation New Album "Unholy Deification" to Be Released on August 25th by Relapse Records (Pre-Orders Available), Plus New Video "Concordat (The Pact) I"

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Photo by Scott Kinkade

"Another twisted helping of subterranean old-school doomy death metal." - Decibel   
Watch INCANTATION’s “Concordat (The Pact) I” video HERE.
Death metal icons INCANTATION will unleash their new album, Unholy Deification, via Relapse Records on August 25th, today revealing the record’s artwork, track listing, preorders, and first single/video!
 
INCANTATION frontman John McEntee comments, "I'm not interested in playing it safe. I think other people feel that there are limits to what we do. However, I don't see it that way. If it feels right, then it's INCANTATION. The songs we write are an honest expression of ourselves. When people hear the new album, I hope they think, ‘Why are these guys so pissed off?!’ Rage gives focus, which is why this album turned out the way it did."


Watch INCANTATION’s “Concordat (The Pact) I” music video, directed by The C.O.I.N., at THIS LOCATION.

Physical Unholy Deification preorders are available via Relapse.com HERE. Digital downloads/streaming are available HERE.
 
Unholy Deification Track Listing:
1. Offerings (The Swarm) IV
2. Concordat (The Pact) I
3. Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII
4. Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX
5. Invocation (Chthonic Merge) X
6. Megaron (Sunken Chamber) VI
7. Convulse (Words Of Power) III
8. Altar (Unify In Carnage) V
9. Exile (Defy The False) II
10. Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII
 
INCANTATION will be on tour throughout Europe and Australia this Summer. See all confirmed dates below.
 
INCANTATION Live:
6/30/2023 Pitfest – Emmen, NL
7/01/2023 Kavka Oudaan – Antwerp, BE
7/02/2023 Boston Music Room – London, UK
7/03/2023 Rebellion – Manchester, UK
7/04/2023 Exchange – Bristol, UK
7/06/2023 Le Belvédère – Namur, BE
7/07/2023 Bambi Galore – Hamburg, DE
7/08/2023 Metal Magic Festival – Fredericia, DK
7/09/2023 The Abyss – Gothenburg, SE
7/11/2023 Debaser – Stockholm, SE
7/14/2023 In Flammen Open Air – Torgau, DE
7/15/2023 Forest Fest – Chevenez, CH
7/16/2023 Slaughter Club – Milan, IT
7/17/2023 Bridge Klub - Ilirska Bistrica, SL
7/18/2023 Fuga – Bratislava, SK
7/20/2023 Hydrozagadka – Warsaw, PL
7/21/2023 Injure Grind Attack Fest – Zawiercie, PL
7/22/2023 Enter The Eternal Fire – Volyně, CZ
7/25/2023 EL Barrio Club – Dubai, UAE
7/27/2023 Crown And Anchor Hotel – Adelaide, AU
7/28/2023 The Bridge Hotel – Sydney, AU
7/29/2023 Max Watts Vic – Melbourne, AU
7/30/2023 The Basement – Canberra, AU
 
Edified over three-plus decades of experience, Unholy Deification is INCANTATION’s thirteenth full-length album. Validated by peers seasoned and new, INCANTATION is more vital than ever. The lineup, featuring founding guitarist/vocalist John McEntee, drummer Kyle Severn, bassist Chuck Sherwood, and guitarist Luke Shively, displays death metal know-how and the power of determination.
 
Lyrically, Unholy Deification originates with Sherwood. An avid reader and occult logician, the INCANTATION bassist wanted to capture a fully realized concept of evolution through enlightenment. Expect thought-provoking, historically derived intellection. The mortal-to-deity narrative interacts with the merciless musical conflagration of hard-hitting tracks such as "Concordat (The Pact) I," "Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX," and "Invocation (Chthonic Merge) X". Make no mistake - the ferocious new album, featuring guests Jeff Beccera (Possessed), Henry Veggian (ex-Revenant), and Dan Vadim Von (Morbid Angel), is pure death metal.
 
INCANTATION's sepulchral pandemonium is visually enhanced by award-winning artist and longstanding collaborator Eliran Kantor (Immolation, Kreator, Cavalera, and more.) The end result is an interpretation of Italian Renaissance masters but thrust into INCANTATION's cauldron of chromatic malice.




9/13/2020

Incantation- Sect of Vile Divinities (Album Review)

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Musicians: Incantation
Album Title: Sect of Vile Divinities 
Genre/ Subgenre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: August 21, 2020

Incantation are a classic death metal band that have been around for over thirty years. While, they haven't ever reached the popularity of bands like Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel, they remain a consistent and highly respected death metal machine. Specializing, usually, in a slower doom influenced style sound, Incantation continue to deliver the goods on their latest release, Sect of Vile Divinities.

The second track off of the album is the slow, heavy, and driving "Propitiation". It takes a little over two minutes for the vocals to kick. But, it's at this point that the song also really kicks in, with a wicked and very cool little riff that is dispersed in the track. I also really like the soaring lead, which plays awesomely against the slower more stomach crunching sounds. The blazing "Chant of Formless Dead" shows the band are just as brutal, if not more so, when they kick speed into full gear. It is an all out attack of blast beats and ripping guitars. The leads here are some of the coolest that I have heard this year. The song, itself, mixes exciting and vicious tempos shifts. My favorite track is probably the aptly named "Fury's Manifesto", as it is an unrelenting and pissed off, brutal attack. The utter and brain beating heaviness displayed here will make your ears fucking bleed. 

Incantation have delivered a brutal, old school death metal release in Sect of Divinities. Going between slower and crushing to fast and unrelenting (many times with a single song), the album is evil and unrepentant in its power to blast you with its brutal sounds. Ranking among the heaviest old death metal albums released this year, it just goes to show that Incantation remain one of the fucking best acts in extreme metal to this very day.


4 out of 5 

6/04/2018

Gruesome- Twisted Prayers (Album Review)

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Musician: Gruesome
Album Title: Twisted Prayers 
Genre/ Subgenre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: June 5, 2018

 Twisted Prayers is the second full length album from American death metal act Gruesome and continues the Death worship that the band so very expertly specializes in. This time around the sound clearly draws its inspiration from Death's masterful album Spiritual Healing, which saw the band expanding their sound with more melodic passages and more mature and thought provoking lyrics.

 As a result, this album too sees Gruesome mature and explore a thrashier and more melodic sound, with lyrics moving away from the horror love of their earlier work. This leads to an impressive monster that will please anyone who misses the early days of the sub-genre and, of course, those who long for Death styled music. Topping off the Death love is the kick ass and sick cover by Ed Repka who has worked with Gruesome before and, of course, worked on the first couple of Death albums.

 The musicianship is stellar as should be any band that dares to walk Death worshiping territory. The hate filled "A Waste of Life" opens with a Chuck Schuldiner-esque riff and goes into a song that is alternately chugging and driving and remains constantly pummeling. "Fate" has another incredible intro that leads into a sound that mixes a thrash and death metal style that is absolutely glorious in its delivery! The battering "Fatal Illusions" attacks the listener from the very first lick and charges right through you, like the chainsaw that it's guitar sound sometimes recalls. The title track is a ferocious beast that shreds and rips through the sound barrier and might just be the best song on this incredible release. 

 It should also be noted that Gruesome released two cover songs. One is of a Mantas song (the original name for Death) "Legion of Doom" which is released as part of Decibal magazine's Flexi Series in their June 2018 issue. You can listen to that track exclusively HERE. A cover of Possessed's classic "The Exorcist" will be released on the deluxe LP of this album which is available at Relapse.com. Both, covers are fucking killer!

 And, killer is THE perfect way to describe Twisted Prayers. Technically amazing and crushing music from beginning to end, this is truly an album for fans who long for this form of Death style music. Gruesome are the fucking masters at bringing it to life in this current era and as such this kick ass album is their gift to us. 

4.5 out of 5

5/14/2018

Skinless- Savagery (Album Review)

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Musician: Skinless
Album Title: Savagery
Genre/ Subgenre: Brutal Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: May 11, 2018

Savagery maybe the most appropriately titled album of 2018. This pissed off and brutal sixth studio offering from brutal death metal crushers Skinless also happens to be one of the heaviest albums of this year.

The album grooves with anger and is an utterly merciless attack on the senses, as well as being uncompromising in its technically savvy and crushing sound. The killer and pounding sound mixes with shredding and speed that will beat you to bloody submission. They are accompanied by inhuman growling that achieves a brutality level that perfectly represents one of the most extreme sub-genres of metal.

The album opens up with its vicious title track, a decimating and pulverizing effort that beats the listener to the ground and leaves them a broken and in shattered pieces. "Skull Session" opens with a nightmarish like intro that heads into a groove filled pounding that pummels the listener like a jackhammer to, appropriately enough, one's skull. Speaking of pummeling, the anger filled, locomotive like "Exacting Revenge" goes between a super heavy groove and blast beats that seem destined to rip a head right off a body. "Line of Dissent" crunches with one of the most brutal grooves you are likely to hear, a slow and driving sound that builds into a bloody beatdown of death metal. Meanwhile, the bonus track, "High Rate Extinction" aims to set the mosh pit on fucking fire with its' merciless onslaught of crushing sound.
 
Savagery takes no prisoners and does not fuck around. Those in search of the most brutal and heavy music must take heed. But, what is most impressive is that despite its uncompromising sound it really knows how to you hook you into its' sound (well as long as you are into extreme metal). The groove makes you wanna trash everything in site and mosh straight to the bloody pits of hell. Topped off with a cool as fuck cover by tattoo artist Jesse Levitt; this is the brutal death metal release of 2018, so far, and will be hard to top by others in the sub-genre.


4.5 out of 5

6/07/2016

Gruesome- Dimensions of Horror (Album Review)

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Musician: Gruesome
Album Title: Dimensions Of Horror
Genre/ Subgenre: Death metal
Label: Relapse
Release Date: May 20, 2016

Gruesome sound and play death metal that is a love letter and tribute to the early sound of the fathers of the genre, Death. They made their debut in 2015 with Savage Land. They're back this year with the what is one of the best EPs I have heard thus far in 2016.

 They present that Death love right from the get go. The driving and pounding drums by Gus Rios make for a frontal attack you won't soon forget. They're accompanied by Robin Mazen's bass to give the album a thick and heavy sound, throughout. The guitars by Daniel Gonzalez and Matt Harvey (who also does the vocals) are alternately soaring and crunching. It's all played with a ferocity and technicality that old-school death metal fans will eat up. Harvey's aforementioned vocals are the right mix of anger, gruff, and growl, yet clear enough to get at least some of the gory images the band seems to love.

That love of gore, death, and horror imagery abound in the killer songs. The full force attack of "Raped by Darkness" is all about Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead. Other standout tracks include the opener "Forces of Death", the title track "Dimensions of Horror" (the gory video, of which, you can see below) and the crunch and drive of "Hellbound". The finishing touches of old-school Death love is the fucking kick ass cover done by Ed Repka, who has worked on covers for not just just Death but Massacre, Atheist, and Megadeth, as well. By the way, do you realize that the zombie is reading from the Necronomicon?! Ash (Evil Dead hero) might need to find him and kick his ass!

If you love this type of music and long for the days like it, then Dimensions of Horror is for you. It will sedate your hunger for it. They only problem I can see is that you'll want more. Well, we'll just have to eagerly await their next full release for that now, won't we?

* * * * out of  * * * * * 

2/24/2016

Skinless- Only the Ruthless Remain (Album Review)

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Musician: Skinless
Album Title: Only the Ruthless Remain
Genre/ Subgenre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records


It's been forever since the last album, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead, from South Glen Falls, NY death metal act Skinless came out in 2006. They had disbanded in 2011, but thankfully got back together in 2013. Last year, some nine years later, they finally gave us a follow up in the form of Only the Ruthless Remain. Is it worth the wait? You bet your ass it is!


In fact this album surpasses that solid album, in almost every manner. It is extremely technically efficient with amazing musicianship from all involved. There are lots of tempo changes within each track as they go between fast and shredding to slow and grinding. The excellent drumming by Bob Beaulac are accompanied by a full sounding bass and alternately blistering and soaring twin guitar work that will have you headbanging along to the point that your fucking neck my snap right off. The vocals from signer Sherwood Webber are brutal and add to the pounding sound.

Songs like the killer opener "Serpenticide", the grinding "Skinless", and the appropriately named "Barbaric Proclivity" simply decimate. It makes for an album that is impossible to sit still while listening to. The cool as fuck cover (one of my favorites from last year!) completes a package that fellow death metal fans simply need in their collection. Welcome back Skinless, you were missed but have more than delivered the goods!

**** out of *****

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