Album/EP

Incantation - Unholy Deification (Album Review)

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Aug 22, 2023

7 min read

Incantation - Unholy DeificationReleased: August 25, 2023

Line Up:

John McEntee // Vocals/GuitarsKyle Severn // DrumsChuck Sherwood // BassLuke Shively // Lead Guitars

Incantation online:

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True legends of the New York death metal scene, Incantation have been turning out their unique brand of brutal, yet often punishingly slow and dissonant, extreme music since the dawn of the 90s. Not as pace-obsessed as most of their peers, Incantation have spent their career carving their own niche by exploring unsettling atmospheres and crushing doom-like tempos, rather than just focusing on white-knuckle brutality. Led by founding member John McEntee, and adorned with another museum-quality album cover from artist Eliran Kantor, Incantation have kept the momentum rolling from 2020’s excellent Sect of Vile Divinities with their newest and twelfth full length Unholy Deification.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAhOHZ99Q14&pp=ygULaW5jYW50YXRpb24%3D

Much like a big chunk of their output, Unholy Deification is at it’s best when Incantation holds in their pace. The back to back doom-influenced ‘Megaron (Sunken Chamber) VI’ and 'Convulse (Words of Power) III’ pack some the heaviest, sludgiest grooves on the record - the former also housing the LP’s finest lead break too. The atmosphere is at it’s most heightened during these moments, with the gnarly ‘Altar (Unify in Carnage) V’ featuring a seriously expanded, mood-changing middle section. 'Homunculus (Spirit Made Flesh) IX’ sees Incantation pull back on the reins hard, with the almost dragging tempo keeping the bpms (and riff-work) low and slow for the whole duration. Perhaps the effort’s most down-tempo, expansive piece is the enormous closer ‘Circle (Eye of Ascension) VII’, with the bass and drum break in the bridge, Nile-esque chanted vocals and the massive droning outro all absolutely drenched in unsettling vibes and chromatic disharmony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDonfRuvnTc&pp=ygULaW5jYW50YXRpb24%3D

Incantation never sits on a tempo for too long, with (almost) all the tracks eventually taking fast turns - this is still extreme metal at the end of the day. ‘Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII’ is the most straightforward brutal cut of the album, longtime drummer Kyle Severn delivering blistering blastbeats, as too ‘Exile (Defy the False) II’. ‘Concordat (The Pact) IV’ sees the group show great restraint to keep the tempo held back as long as they can before the mid-song speed up, which packs a great guitar melody before things get more twisted and manic. Not only do Incantation like to keep the listener guessing as to when the next feel and tempo shift is coming, they keep the grey matter churning with their lyrically content. Far deeper than the usual gore/revenge obsessed fare, Unholy Deification’s concept of man becoming a god through enlightenment (and occult) is certainly a little more thought-provoking.

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Covered in an endless vortex of riffs and knotty time and feel changes, Unholy Deification certainly demands the listener’s full-attention - and perhaps a few spins to have every twist and turn sink in. Incantation’s legacy as underground brutal legends has long been solidified, but Unholy Deification proves that they have more than enough creative and musical inspiration and passion to easily run with the bands they’ve influenced. Simply put, if you’re an Incantation aficionado, or a fan of any death metal that’s uncompromising, unsettling and with an experimental edge, then you cannot miss Unholy Deification.