Incantation: Vanquish in Vengeance (2012)

Incantation is a legendary band in the death metal scene.  The Pennsylvanian (not to be confused with Transylvanian) band released one of the landmark albums in death metal history with the 1992 release Onward to Golgotha.  It took death metal into even more of an occult direction with eerie atmosphere, murky production and blasphemous lyrics.  It also led to a slew of imitators, bands trying hard to match that sound, but there is still just one Incantation.

The band has been steadily releasing material ever since their debut, though they have never been able to top that album.  The band is guitarist John McEntee's project at this point in time.  He was one of the founding members (other founding member Paul Ledney has split and formed Profanatica and Havohej) and has performed vocal duties since 2004.  This album was released after an uncharacteristic six-year gap since the previous album and sees the band coming back strong.

Guitar riffs still lurch and crawl throughout the album like an undead creature stalking its prey.  The croaking vocals are still suitably sepulchral.  The band is at its best when it is playing slower-paced songs.  The malevolence comes through that much clearer.  But their faster-paced material is no slouch either.  If I had to complain about one aspect, it would probably be the production.  This is a much more modern sound and it is very clear and crisp, but that is not necessarily what we are looking for from Incantation.  The murky riffs and grave subject matter require murkier production.  The riffs should feel more swampy and bogged-down. 

I quite like this release.  It still does stand up to Onward to Golgotha, but very few albums do.  But this is probably the second-best album I have yet heard from Incantation.