March 13th, 2012
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Region: Sweden
The long awaited return of the revered Swedish tech death monsters Spawn of Possession. Incurso has leaked, and I can guarantee you guys that this post or the link within will be taken down within the week (or even day).
Spawn of Possession were one of the first modern technical death metal bands I fell in love with. Cabinet's controlled and savage assault blew me away, the solos ripped through me while the riffs managed to avoid Necrophagist-level wankery while still being technically impressive. Noctambulant took these elements and added a melodic, pseudo-classical edge to the formula and took things slower at points, but the solos were still so impressive and the riffs so twisted and devastating — I really didn't think that if they did release a follow up it would be able to approach either records. Particularly after the line-up changes and long gap between them and Incuso.
I can say that while not on Noctambulant's level in terms of memorable writing on the first two listens it is certainly not a disappointment in any sense. The guitar tone feels a little thinner than in the past but Bryssling's musicianship/writing is still top notch, while Muenzner's performance is fine as well (I would still prefer Karlsson instead). The smooth bass shines through which is great since Erland's performance is jaw dropping. I'm also really glad that Dennis is on vocals and not Chalky in the end since Dennis really is the only proper voice, somehow managing to growl out those lyrics as fast as the riffs, and Henriks blasts are wall-cracking and tight.
The first three tracks (one is a short intro) are a tad bland and feel a little rehashed but I like them well enough. However when you hit nearly 10 minute long The Evangelist (the length which was worrying to me) the album really starts to shine. The fact they managed to make a technical song that long and not lose my interest is truly impressive. From then on the tracks continue to be convoluted, sometimes melodic, and always malefic squalls of techy badassery. Apparition closes the album out on a slightly slower note with some symphonic elements softening the attack and reminding me more of Noctambulant.
If you're a fan of Spawn of Possession I can assure you Incurso won't disappoint. I was definitely worried about how it would turn out and it doesn't top Noctambulant but my fears were generally misplaced, and you should definitely preorder the cd on Relapse, (or probably pick it up when it's out at your local cd store) or preorder a digital copy on their bandcamp page.
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)
DOWNLOAD (Mirrorcreator)
Gotta say, upon further listens I'm liking this more and more. The first three tracks are pretty sick. Some of the solos are pretty wicked but still not as scorching as on previous albums.
ReplyDelete