In the mid-late 80s death metal was still a vital force in which the standards of the genre were established. The new genre differentiated itself from speed metal several years before, but techniques common to both genres still overlapped without seeming artificial as they would when re-introduced later to make death metal more audience-friendly. This period gave rise to many bands which command universal respect today, but there were also a number of smaller projects which nevertheless imparted the same artistic drive and skill.
Recently reissued Incubus self-titled EP Incubus takes a short three-track voyage through the hinterlands of death metal’s darker yet constructive twisting of prior genre forms. Taking the work of Slayer, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and other proto-death metal bands, and moving it into more extreme directions, this is the same trajectory from which Morbid Angel spawned an entire lineage within the genre.
Adept at tempo shifts, in addition to a layering of guitar tones ranging from the subterranean to the celestial, in only three tracks Incubus wrangles a distinctive creation with the trademark frenetic energy of death metal and the more hookish speed metal. Artistically coherent in a way that is rarely if ever seen today, this reminder of genuine purpose married to cultivated skill is very much worth hearing again, or particularly for the first time. Incubus will be released on June 16th via Vic Records.
Tags: death metal, incubus
I just got some version of this from Abyss Records last year. It came in a faux-vinyl giant fold-out sleeve similar to Profanatica’s Sickened by Holy Ghost. It was signed by Mike Browning in silver ink and it had liner notes in English and Spanish. The back says it was printed in South America by a label called Proselytism in 2012.
I don’t know if this is a bootleg or not, but Browning’s involvement and the size of the label makes me think it’s legit. I’m guessing it was a fairly limited release, judging by how lavish it is. I’ll pick up this new one too if it has bonus tracks or a different remaster. Heck, I might even get it just to have a more portable copy.
The sample track at the end of the article shows exactly why this EP is essential death metal listening. Very coherent and epic like you said. The solos also have a very proto-Azagthoth vibe. They are well-integrated into the song structures, to the point where they become both a driving force in the songs and a glue that sticks sets of riffs together. When you listen to the whole album, it feels like a perfect bridge between the Mike Torrao-led parts of Seven Churches and the first albums from Morbid Angel and Nocturnus. Fans of Abominations of Desolation should like this one a lot.
Also, very Necrovore. When I first heard this album years ago, it was on a split CD with Thy Kingdom Come and Divus de Mortuus. That should tell you everything you need to know about what this EP sounds like.
Most death and black metallers despise power metal.
Adramelch is a 1989 Italian power metal band that black metallers can righfully enjoy!
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If you can imagine something in the line of Psychotic Waltz combined with Salsbury era Uriah Heep and epic Brittish heavy metal you’re in for a ride of highly emotional medieval narrative heavy metal, that reminds me a bit of Sacramentum’s Far Away from the Sun in its imaginative desire for experience.
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Their debut album is the only one worth checking out as later albums fell into AOR territory.
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link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0AGnRlIMf8