Incantation - Tribute to the Goat
Review: This live recording of Incantation in the studio with half of its first album lineup filled in by players from half of its most competent personnel shift in the last decade shows what makes this band formidable as a wall of sound, with vocalist Craig Pillard complementing the low-end roar of John McEntee's guitar with a torrent of bass distortion all his own. Songs from the first album predominate, with some exquisite borrowings from the uncelebrated regions of the band's rocky middle career.
Drums are more rigid in playing but relaxed in timing, and guitars elaborate mildly in some areas upon standards and in others tighten up up on ideas previously only partially expressed in song. This is a view of Incantation that exhalts their strengths and corrects many previous weaknesses, and was a landmark en route to "Diabolical Conquest," which is arguably the second great work from Incantation. While this album does not quite match the intensity of "Onward to Golgotha," it does evoke that spirit and gives a different insight on some classic material with powerful sound as well as composition.