Incantation - _The Infernal Storm_
(Relapse, 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10)
Losing Daniel Corchado (who is currently back doing great things in The Chasm) seems to have been more of a blow to Incantation than his meagre writing credits in their last _Diabolical Conquest_ [CoC #33] would suggest. Incantation in 2000 comprises, of course, omnipresent figurehead John McEntee and also bassist Robert Yench, who are joined this time by new vocalist Michael Saez (ex-Deathrune, also second guitarist) and a guesting Dave Culross on drums. And though this means that the inexorable hounds of Culross' pounding double kick drums and tight snare are ever on your heels, it doesn't make for a selection of songs or an overall sound which has the same enrapturing power as _Diabolical Conquest_. Incantation's rumbling and raw death metal style requires, for my ears, quite a fine balance between production sound and song structures to weave a web around its listener, and on _The Infernal Storm_ I don't think McEntee and co. have got the balance consistently right. Though the mind-numbing repeated minor chord progressions of _TIS_ do create good atmosphere, they are far over-used and the punctuation of the stronger, thicker melodic strains (still minor) which well balanced _Diabolical Conquest_'s character are sadly forsaken here. All the same, Incantation have given us another appetising platter of dark death metal which explores the less ambitious style presented on their first two outputs (_Onward to Golgotha_ and _Mortal Throne of Nazarene_), though with a far superior production and somewhat better constructed songs.
(article published 12/8/2000)
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