Discerning Forces

Well, Incubus gave up on trying to keep their original name and created, Opprobrium. They then released what I would call a very worthy release to strengthen their already glorious legacy. Back in the day they released some of the best death/thrash available and really set a standard for mixing thrash and death metal. "Beyond the Unknown" is still one of my favorite albums ever. So it seems the Howard brothers still have some magic up their sleeves with this release.

The songs definitely rival their old Incubus material. Just the album cover shows you everything you need to know about the attitude going into this album. Using the same imagery from "Beyond the Unknown" and fortunately, still have the music capabilities that went into their old releases. The songs are fast, heavy, and full of that old death metal attitude. "Discerning Forces" is a slower number; heavy as Hell with some awesome riffs. "Digitrap" is full of the speed that made their older albums great. Anyone who is skeptical about this release needs to know the old attitude is very much alive on this release. The riffs are great, the drums are spot on but could use more variation. The occasional unique fill and some other cool stuff comes through but it's pretty standard. This album really has the same death metal feel as "Beyond the Unknown".

The production is great. The guitar really shines through as the main focus of this album. The guitars sound like it could have come out in 1992 during the golden age of death metal. Not as heavy as say, Cannibal Corpse or maybe Suffocation but more along the lines of early Morbid Angel or Cancer. I do have some issues though. The bass is not here at all. It doesn't shine through unless its backing up a very heavy riff. The vocals sound just like the old days. Not as deep but pretty damn close. Other than the lack of bass, this album has very good production.

Overall, this is a pretty damn good album. I hate to dwell on their old stuff and use it as a comparison but I feel like once the name is changed, people hesitate towards their new releases and are afraid of what they might hear. I gave this album a chance and didn't really know what to expect but what pleasantly surprised. Definitely check this out.

Best tracks - "Digitrap", "Discerning Forces", and "Dark Entanglement"