The Incantus – ‘The Incantus‘

Melbourne folk metal meisters, The Incantus now offer up their debut self-titled album; out now, on all streaming and digital sites.

The material found in ‘The Incantus‘ features very sensitive content, stemming from individual life experiences, both positive and negative, with motivational sources ultimately winning out. It also expands its themes, into more externalised territory; specifically, societal control and the need for self-liberation.

Since completing the line-up, the band has found its place and voice.

Horror – Opening with deeply sinister spoken word content. Very darkly horror film-esque, so fitting its title, convincingly. Luckily, riff melodies overtake, in a very expansive format, coupled with fulsomely heavy drum beats. Fading, to quieter chords. Leaving an ominous atmosphere, in its wake.

Sidhe Of The Barrow – Immensely powerful intro riff, of epic proportions! Invigorating drum hits, with blackened vocals following. Placing a whole new spin on the narrative many know as a gentle, light fae folk derivation. Make no mistake, this is sharp, extreme and visceral, to the point of evisceration. Exceptionally good production standard, if a little too pointed, for some tastes. Certainly not the kind of sound usually associated with tracks of this nature, but it’s acute and it doesn’t hold back. About as raw as it gets, in extreme metal terms, though may be likely to divide opinion, in terms of lyrical thematic content. One thing’s certain – it’s a razor blade delivery, you can’t fail to be struck by and imaginatively sliced up by.

Protraction Of Night – Heavy impact drum roll intro. A very sharply delivered blackened vocal. Equal riff acuity. Pressured pace, throughout, even in the marginally slower final section. Just a very extreme track.

From Where I Hold The Sky – Full force steel intro. Huge drum focus, again. Deeper and still extreme vocals. Same sharp delivery as before. Some nifty wah and tremolo, towards the bridge, followed with a military style marching beat. This is a track that means war. Very coarsened vocals, executed with sustained extremity. Merciless heavy drumming force. Fading, to creepy sound effects.

By The Light Of Burning Bridges – Opening on a vacuum of sound, instantly followed by vocal extremity. Tearing impact. Darkness surrounds it, while light emerges from the edges. Expanding the riffs, at the end.

Goddess Ablaze – A much more peaceful intro echo, just before the hard-core steel edge hits, again. A very involved darkness suffuses this, cloak-like. Again, the vocal extremity’s relentless. Sharpened riffs dominate, with screaming melodies. Carefully placed touch of wah, before monster death growls appear. Fading darkly.

They Wait For Me – Massively electrifying riff opening. Setting the pace, instantly. Blackened growls follow. Very acute, continuing with full flow force. Lots of vocal emphasis. Drums kicking in, ¾ in, with notable impact. Very warrior-esque focus. Effective fade.

The Fray – A fluid, deeply steel riff intro, hinting at a possibly quieter track, but soon disabusing you of that notion. Heaviness building, with pounding drums. Steel string tones form the bridge, injecting more melody. Just a very serrated sound, with unstoppable force.

Wintersmith – Opening on an enjoyably melodic and palpable steel string refrain. Monster growls return. Tastefully sharp riffs add to the edge. Some real emphasis on that riff acuity, tempered with the pounding drum heaviness. It’s a very physical track, adding more weight, with the clanking mechanics. Concrete heavy fade-out.

Gallowbraids Of Greed Gold – Another heavily dark intro; now delivered via a simple riff solo, with an accompanying swirling surrounding storm. Into really extreme territory, with a full effect floor-shaking accompaniment. Upping the stakes, once more, in vocal terms; this time, blending tearing extremity, with deeper growls. Full force cloak of darkness, saturated by rage. Proper warrior drum beats, once again, marching into battle. Even a funereal hint in here, echoing through those strains. Fading to fluid solitary steel strings.

Quiescence – Living up to its title, here’s a much lighter, though still sombre emphasis. Beautifully and dexterously delivered classical acoustic tones, in a pure instrumental, featuring rhythmic lightness, in the background.

Overall – ‘The Incantus’ is amongst the heaviest, most forceful extreme metal albums you’ll hear. Whilst the level of sheer, ear and brain-shredding extremity may not be everyone’s go-to material, it’s undeniably affecting, in the physical force of its impact. As dark as claimed, with excellent production quality, ‘TI’ will hit you, hard, in the solar plexus, like a speeding, crashing freight train.

10/10 **********

For fans of Carcass, Amon Amarth, Skreamer, Iron Monkey, Arch Enemy, Skeletonwitch, Nidhoeggr.

https://theincantus.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/TheIncantus

https://www.instagram.com/theincantus