Readers familiar with pretty much any death metal know who Incantation are and what they sound like. For newcomers to the genre, if you listen to Tomb Mold, Corpsessed, Krypts, or really anything labeled “cavernous,” then you unwittingly have familiarity with Incantation’s modus operandi, as they are the originators of the sound. Often split equally between death metal and doom metal, Incantation’s records evoke a murky, lightless maw which swallows you up and chews you into mush. Unholy Deification is no different. Altercations between flesh-ripping riffs and plodding stomps make up the core of the band’s songwriting methodology, and even in 2023 it still works. What isn’t broken needs no fixing.
Unholy Deification sounds like the lovechild of The Infernal Storm and Sect of Vile Divinities—which aren’t bad places to start—but with an otherworldly twist. An equitable partnership between death and doom yet again yields dividends with a strong sequence of five solid selections, beginning with “Offerings (The Swarm) IV” and spanning through “Invocation (Chthonic Merge) X.” A thematic shift from the Satanic to the Lovecraftian sends these songs into more ethereal and eldritch territory than previously explored, a transition reflected in songwriting as well. There’s an increased presence of unusual melodies and chord progressions, paired with quintessential Incantation pitch harmonics. Together, these attributes help flavor and distinguish the material from everything composed thus far in Incantation’s career (“Concordat (The Pact) I” and “Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX”). Album highlights “Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII” and “Altar (Unify in Carnage) V” further solidify the band’s reputation as strong songsmiths and stalwart performers, proving that even this late in their career they can still run circles around their imitators.
Still, I can’t help but feel there is something missing on Unholy Deification. I could attribute some of that to the production which, while an improvement over albums like Decimate Christendom and Profane Nexus, lacks the same filth of their early work that helped sell the sound. That alone doesn’t explain it, though. Certain lackluster cuts like “Megaron (Sunken Chamber) VI,” “Convulse (Words of Power) III,” and closer “Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII” are almost entirely forgettable, without compelling riffs or memorable passages to elevate themselves to the same tier as their neighbors. Then there’s the oddball naming convention, which adds a bit of mystique to the album concept, but also confusion. I tried reorganizing the tracklist based on the Roman numerals at the end of each title, hoping that it would lead to a cool Upon the Throne of Apocalypse-esque shift in tone and tempo. It does indeed change the character and pacing of the record in similar ways, but “Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII” doesn’t fit at all in the middle of the runtime, calling into question the experiment’s ability to hold water. If this was an intentional intellectual exercise to create a chimeric record capable of morphing between two distinct but equally monstrous personalities, I wonder if the band’s valiant effort to challenge conventions around album organization would’ve been better spent simply strengthening the weaker songs instead.
It is entirely possible that I am overthinking what’s happening on Unholy Deification, but it intrigues me when any band, let alone one almost thirty-five years into their career, shakes things up in this manner. I would love to see the idea refined and developed further, potentially ushering Incantation into yet another era in their career, and perhaps allowing them to once again redefine what a death metal album sounds like. Until that time, rest assured that Unholy Deification is at least another solid entry in a remarkably consistent catalog.
Rating: Good.
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Relapse Records
Websites: incantation.com | facebook.com/IncantationOfficial
Releases Worldwide: August 25th, 2023
Steel Druhm
After spending several weeks lost in the hideous caverns and crawlspaces of the Incantation discography, it’s actually quite odd to hear something brand new from them. My brain is still loaded down with their legendary catalog and obsessing over this old album or that obscure track. Now it’s time to process the sounds of 2023 Incantation for better or worse. With a new guitarist in tow, sole original member John McEntree and company return to familiar stomping grounds to showcase the latest version of their sometimes blasting, sometimes glacially plodding sound with a dark concept revolving around a man becoming a kind of dreadful god figure. While there are no major overhauls of the Incantation sound on Unholy Deification, there is a sense that things are modernized and at times streamlined. There was a hint of this development on 2020s Sect of Vile Divinities and it’s more prominent here. Fear not, because this is still the band that almost single-handily invented the death-doom genre, so your nether regions will get squished into a useless hairy pulp one way or the other.
First off, I’d like to address the strange song title nomenclature. Every track is assigned a Roman numeral but they’re out of sequence. It looks confusing but this is apparently how the album is intended to be experienced. We listened to the album this way, then, just to do it, reordered it so the numerals ran in the correct sequence. Both versions work and there’s room for debate which way is better but this review focuses on the disordered version. Opener “Offerings (the Swarm) IV” is more or less what you’d expect from Incantation with their trademark blend of thrashing intensity and slower, ponderous doom segments. The thing that jumped out immediately is how relatively tame it sounds. It reminds me of the material from Testimony of the Ancients by Pestilence and it lacks that visceral, horrific weight Incantation are famous for. The riffs are slick and gripping, but it’s definitely Incantation Lite. Things get heavier on “Concordant (the Pact) I” as the levels of murk, mystery, and massiveness approach optimal and the transitions between tempos are fluid. Ace guitar work and a sense of heft make this one an album standout. “Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX” is another winner, with huge, bending doom riffs and a major Celtic Frost vibe seeping in. This one is atmospheric death-doom done well and it feels like a bowling ball factory dropping on your head. The Celtic Frost influence reappears several times throughout the album, most notably on closer “Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII” where the guitars and moods scream To Mega Therion loudly and proudly.
Other outstanding moments include the thrashy aggressiveness of “Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII” which is infested with slicing riffs and blistering death-thrash energy. “Altar (Unity in Carnage) V” is probably the most classic-sounding song here, with a creeping, diseased-sounding doom plod that will cave in your fat face. Cuts like this and “Homunculus” make me want more of the uber-heavy stuff. Unfortunately, tracks like “Megaron (Sunken Chamber) VI” go the other way, feeling lighter and less substantial, and it actually reminds me of Sins of Mankind era Cancer, which is way less heavy-duty than the usual Incantation output. Other tracks like “Exile (Defy the False) II” are decent, but not what I would call essential. At just under 42 minutes, Unholy Deification moves along briskly and no song overstays its welcome as they all sit in the 3-5 minute window. The as-of-now uncredited production is more murky and gritty than the overly clean sound on Sect of Vile Divitinties, but more murkiness and filth would bring out the beast in the band’s style.
John McEntree has come into his own as a death vocalist over time and he does a fine job here. His combination of guttural croaks and raspy screams add to the atmosphere of doom and gloom created by the six strings. He may not be my favorite death vocalist but he’s certainly reliable and knows his craft well. Speaking of those six strings, McEntree and new axe Luke Shively (Dismemberment) uncork a truckload of wild riffs and harmonies designed to pick at your brain like maggots. Frantic trems, dissonant sounds and smart use of pinch harmonics all flavor the sausage, and even the songs that don’t wow me are kept aloft with killer fretwork, some of it surprisingly melodic. I find myself wanting things to feel heavier and nastier, but I can’t complain about the quality of the guitar work. As always, Kyle Severn kills it on the kit with his thunderous and agile performance being a highlight.
Unholy Deification gives older Incantation fans some gifts while taking others away. Sound-wise it’s darker and meaner than last time, but some of the material feels lighter and almost borders on melodeath. I still believe Incantation to be incapable of making a truly bad album, and this is far from that, though it may not be the skull crusher some hoped for. It’s far too soon to know where Unholy Deification slots into the band’s collective works, but it’s yet another solid late-career outing with some massive tracks to thrill the faithful. That’s not so bad for a legendary act in their 34th year of death life.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
