Decimate Christendom

The year 2004 is definitely a new period for Incantation - I would say, even a breakthrough. With the release of "Decimate Christendom" John McEntee, the band's the most important member, decided to add vocal duties, taking the dual role of guitarist/vocalist (until today!). It turned out not too bad, the line-up finally gained some good - for this band - stability, and the new music did not lose its identity or the appropriate brutality. I will say more, "Decimate..." against the background of "Blasphemy" seems to be a more compact and better thought-out material. And this, despite the fact that this disc has a few inaccuracies.

But let's start from the beginning.

The sound has improved (to be more "fleshy"), more blasting has returned, the atmosphere is more captivating, and McEntee's vocals did not strip the whole music of its heavy sound or originality. The vocal changes are primarily the release of occasional black-sounding harshes, while the rest are a growl quite close to Mike Saez's manner of standard growling - low and cryptic. Malice these vocals can be seen as a defect here, even a certain stagnation (especially against the background of Pillard or Corchado), although it must be admitted that this style of singing fit quite sensibly into the whole of the other instruments and it kept its continuity with previous releases.

Well, the instrumental side of "Decimate..." is the most diverse - especially guitar and drums. It's lively, hellish and quite brutal, but I have already mentioned it, now I will refer to individual songs, such as "Dying Divinity", "No Paradise Awaits", the title track or "Blaspheme The Sacraments", where John and the rest of his band put a lot of effort into the tracks, which each of them had a some "catchiness" (for example in terms of their characteristic approach to the melody, more fast/slow paces, guitar feeling or Kyle's "trademark" blasting). On average, only "Unholy Empowerment Of Righteous Deprivation" (redundant intro) and "Merciless Tyranny" (in which the same riff from the end of "Upon Infinite Twilight/Majesty Of Infernal Damnation" from "Diabolical Conquest" appears - which seems like a not very successful autoplagiarism), but that's roughly all that "Decimate..." make it worse, so the result is still good. Considering the uninteresting period right after "Blasphemy" was released, it's an excellent result.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2021/09/incantation-decimate-christendom-2004.html

Hopefully, I don’t need to mention the band member replacements for now, but in addition to a stricter lineup, as the only remaining original member of Incantation, John probably said to himself “the hell with it” and stepped up to the vocals. I’m sure I’ve lost count, but with John now (and until the band’s demise) taking over the vocals, the band had at least four or five vocalists, which is tiresome. With John stepping up to the plate, it sounds like anyone can take the part. However, John adds another layer, agonizing screaming. You also have more brutal death metal-like deep growling. That, and a pretty impressive album cover that fits in a brutal death metal band.

Decimate Christendom isn’t even disappointing, but plain mediocre. With a decent instrumental and a very pointless interlude, you have ten songs that are nothing new. In terms of the music, you’ve already listened to it. THIS record is nothing new. The blast beats, the blazing riffs, and the formulaic death growls even John maintains since the original vocalist, though again, he gives another inch. So I have to respect him for that extra feature. Otherwise, you’ve analyzed the same song structures similar to the predecessors.

What’s more sad about this record are the songs. Take Blaspheme the Sacraments for example: despite the brutal intro, drums performance, and some guitar riffs, they had to stretch the song and made it hard to like. For whatever reason. Although you hear the aforementioned deep growling in brutal death metal style, Horns of Eradication shares similar characteristics, except this one is simply underwhelming and simple. And you can say the same for Feeble Existence. It sounds awesome in the first half, but the other half is a three-minute outro. The death/doom elements are the weakest the band could construct, and it’s evident. Or you could say, “scratch that, there’s none of that here but traditional/old school death metal.” That isn’t wrong to suggest, perhaps a bit misleading considering the band’s nature?

The rest of the songs aren’t even worth mentioning. They’re just generic, and I don’t recall using that word with Incantation. If there’s anything to salvage, it’s Dying Divinity. While being the shortest song, it’s brutal, all right. I love the fast riffs and the angry drumming. Call it a guilty pleasure of mine; gets the job done. As clear as it is, I can’t claim the same for the entire record. Keyword is feeble, just like the last song...

I think I gave my two cents for all the vocalists of the past, but John’s has to be the most impressive one. An impressive debut in an otherwise disappointing record. I’m positive he would improve or perfect his style in the future, but I can state the same for the band’s direction onward. Maybe stop stretching the songs when they lack progression in the song structures when nothing new is being offered. That would already be an improvement. And either capitalize on the death/doom elements, or don’t. This record was wobbling between that and to being traditional.

Since the early 90s, Incantation has been a force to reckon with in death metal. Even until now, the band has never stopped putting out quality releases that are consistent as they are enjoyable. This release marks band leader John McEntee's vocal debut, as well as their best album of this decade.

Incantation fans should know exactly what to expect with this record. Quick and powerful drums, twisted death metal riffs, crushingly gloomy doom sections... all those good things Incantation are known for. This album delivers on every department.

The album opens up with it's title track, and pretty much sums the album up. Following that is a face ripper of a song, "Dying Divinity". This song is really easy to get into, as it has a really good arrangement and proves to be catchy and evil all at once. One will notice here that Kyle Severn's drums were recorded and produced very well, sounding natural and clean. His drum performance really shines through and shows that he never misses a beat. Also, in this song is a pretty cool solo. It's short and not flashy, but just seems so appropriate. McEntee may not be the most virtuoso guitarist out there, but he definitely knows how to phrase well.

Joe Lombard's bass playing also shines through here. You can hear the bass pulsating through each song, and it just sounds like the guy knows what he's doing. He keeps rhythm well along with the drums, giving John McEntee's evil riffs all the more backbone. A lot of these riffs are pretty twisting, ranging from quick pull offs to trem picking to all out doom heaviness. One will find there are quite a lot of good doom sections scattered through out the record which really act as a great counterpoint, and they seem very logical within the song structures.

I should mention at this point that the song "Merciless Tyranny" is one of the most ripping songs on the album, also proving to be a favourite along with the previously mentioned track. Severn pulls of some incredible snare rolls followed with bass-cymbal fills. This song by far has the most impressive drum performance, not to mention the riffs are probably the most ripping. You'll appreciate how tight they are after listening to this track.

The second half of the album seems to have a bit more slow parts, but proves to be just as great to listen too (just listen to "Horns of Eradication", that song has some really crushing parts).

Incantation will hopefully stick around for a long time because I can never imagine them releasing a bad album. This album is a refreshing treat in a world plagued with bad modern death metal. Don't hesitate to hear this release, it really has a lot of staying power.

Yes, I gave this album a 95% rating. These guys deserve it, Incantation is back and better than before.

After the much disappointing previous album, Blasphemy, I sadly somewhat lost faith in Incantation. After all, most great bands eventually take the path of lameness...Slayer, Celtic Frost, Venom...Hell, even bands like Immolation and Dissection are starting to lose their touch. But this Incantation album has renewed my faith in this legendary death metal act.

First off, John McEntee is an absolutely killer vocalist. His style is very similar to all other Incantation vocalists, hoarse growls spewing forth damnation. Obviously, he didn't want to change the sound of the band. He also does some sickening mid/high pitched shrieks through out this album that add an AWESOME touch.

What can you expect from this album? You know the drill, it's fucking Incantation. Antichristian death metal with blasting drums, twisting tremelo picked melodies and riffs, and of course, those slow-as-hell doom metal moments. No, it isn't anything ground breaking. No, it isn't anything new. But it is a great, solid release from a band that refuses to quit. While other death metal acts change their style or become more concerned about playing as technical as possible, Incantation plays dark, twisted, evil death metal with the spirit of the ancient gods of metal. They continue to stick true to their style and their music, not for fame, fortune, or fitting in.... for the love of this monstrosity of horrendous music known as Death Metal, a genre they easily helpled to influence and pioneer. Just listen to the main riff in Dying Divinity, that is CLASSIC Incantation riffing, that fucked up churning madness of tremelo picked metal insanity.

Fuck trends, Incantation is back, and they are not comprimising anything for anyone!!

There was a period, back in the early nineties when Incantation ruled. Around the time of their classic ‘Onward to Golgotha’, I dubbed them the heaviest band on the planet. Quite frankly, at the time, I’d never heard anything quite like it. Subsequent releases were just as gut wrenching in their heaviosity, yet for some reason, the impact Incantation once had was deadened. The constant exposure to something that was once ground breaking had become the norm. Less dangerous if you like. As a result, only the die-hard death metal fan found solace in their music. Not surprisingly, ‘Decimate Christendom’ suffers from the same fate.

There is no doubt Incantation is a death metal institution. Their standing in the scene cannot be questioned. But things have changed. As far as pushing the boundaries of DM in the new millennium, well that exercise has been passed on to acts like Vehemence and Necrophagist (among others). Incantation on the other hand, could care less about invention or progression in DM, instead relying on their own brand and style to get them through. For fans of the band, there can really be no complaints – Incantation give you exactly what you would expect. ‘Decimate…’ is pretty much just like every other Incantation record of the past decade – fast, furious dry production death metal with smatterings of slower doom style elements. It’s all extremely well delivered and executed with technical precision. But that’s it! And therein lies the problem.

Incantation is no more than a solid DM act in 2004. Their style is so predictable now that their impact is severely lessened. The once dangerous act has now become a shadow of it’s former self. For all the flaying and sonic blasting that ‘Decimate…’ captures, it just fails to leave any lasting impression. To this writer, ‘Decimate..’reaches its end point without any fanfare - it rolls along without distinguishable sections, any highs, lows or threatening climaxes. It just exists as a harmless background wall of noise.

Having delivered what their fans expect, I suppose Incantation will be pretty chuffed with ‘Decimate..’ Clearly it meets their no compromise, take no prisoners philosophy. Furthermore, the fact that this album is also their first since the departure of former vocalist Mike Saez makes this album something of a rebirth for the band. It is something the band would be keen to seize upon as proof of their willingness to continue in the face of adversity. Knowing this, it must be stated that John McEntee makes a worthy replacement, although I’m sure some others would disagree.

Fifteen years of existence as a band cannot be taken lightly. Fifteen years playing brutal death metal is even more impressive – the boys obviously love what they do. No doubt, Incantation still has a tremendously loyal core fan base – and for the most part, I suppose ‘Decimate..’ meets their expectations. For me, I’m a little jaded with it. It’s not a bad album per se; it’s just that it doesn’t move me like previous Incantation albums. There’s no danger anymore. Only true brutal DM fans need apply for this. Otherwise, it’s a case of same shit, different day as far as I’m concerned.