Infernal Conjuration: Infernale Metallum Mortis (2019)

Infernal Conjuration was one of the opening acts when I saw The Chasm last July.  I had not previously heard of them, but their performance was excellent.  I was so impressed that I picked up the vinyl issue of this album, the band's debut. 

To begin with, let's just say there is a pretty good reason why Infernal Conjuration would have been on tour with The Chasm in the first place.  Like The Chasm, Infernal Conjuration is a death metal band from Mexico with an eye towards progressive song structures and some technical riffs. 

The music here is a combination of The Chasm, Sadistic Intent, Death and Morbid Angel.  The songs are jam-packed with jagged riffs that often come out of nowhere and shifts in sound seemingly at random.  The most surprising aspect is that despite the almost constant shifts in tempo and riffs, the songs are actually coherent.  The album seems more like one long song that is completely unhinged, offering no chance at respite from the constant barrage of murky, demonic-sounding riffs.

I have spoken several times about the massive number of great death metal albums released recently.  Infernal Conjuration's full-length debut is definitely on that list, even if it did not make my Top 10 list.  It certainly came close. 

The Chasm in Omaha: July 9, 2019

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to see The Chasm in concert, along with a few other bands.  The show was at The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues.  The show included a couple of Nebraska local bands and a couple of other groups.  I will get to all of them.

ORPHEUS

The first group out of the gate was the Nebraska native group Orpheus.  This was not my first time seeing them as they were one of the groups that was opening for Goatwhore awhile back, so I knew what to expect.  I liked them quite a bit, they were loud, fast and aggressive, and it appears they have been improving with time.  Nothing really stood out, but they did a great job setting the tone for the evening.

EZRA

Ezra is still kicking after all these years.  The band has been around since the early 1990's and have undergone a number of sound changes over the years.  The Ezra that appeared last night seemed different than the Ezra I have seen on previous occasions.  The music was more raw and primal, and heavier.  Also, I don't recall but it seems like the last couple times I saw Ezra there were only three members.  They may have added a guitarist.  They sounded terrific last night, probably their best performance of the times I have seen them.

INFERNAL CONJURATION

Now we get into the primary bands, not to infer anything bad about the Nebraska groups.  I had not previously heard of either Infernal Conjuration or the next band and I have seen both of the Nebraska groups before.  Infernal Conjuration is a death metal band from Mexico and they blew me away.  They were fantastic.  Obviously influenced by The Chasm, Infernal Conjuration uses progressive structures and riffs upon riffs upon riffs.  They were extremely impressive.  I picked up a record, so look out for a review on that at some point.

CRUCIAMENTUM

Despite the name, Cruciamentum is the only of the three touring bands that is not from Mexico.  Cruciamentum is a UK death metal band.  They were the most straight-forward death metal band of the night, but they were crushingly loud and extremely intense.  They played a long set, but had great riffs and were also very impressive.  I ordered an album when I got home that night, since the band did not have anything in my preferred format.

THE CHASM

Finally, we get to the headliners.  I have always been more of a fan of Daniel Corchado's previous band Cenotaph a little more, but I do definitely enjoy The Chasm as well.  I thought I knew what to expect from The Chasm, but they absolutely blew me away.  They were amazing.  They played some of their more straightforward stuff without a lot of the real progressive structures.  Daniel Corchado sounded great and the riffs were crushing.  They played one or two instrumentals and The Chasm is a band that can really do instrumental music well.  I met Corchado briefly after the show and thanked him for the terrific concert.  He seems like a genuinely nice guy and was just happy that people turned out for the show.