Incantation
Decimate Christendom

Incantation: one of the least considered Death Metal bands, yet with one of the most prolific discographies in the American scene.

The quartet debuted, like all the most important bands of the genre, in the early nineties with the historic album “Onward To Golgotha,” coining an extremely heavy sound characterized by the alternation of faster parts and slower sections: the latter are a frequent feature in Incantation compositions, earning the band the reputation of a Doom Death band, and in this “Decimate Christendom,” released in 2004, all the stylistic elements of the past years are revisited.

Despite the band often being underrated, I believe it is impossible to question the influences they have had on the past Death scene and still exert on many contemporary high-caliber groups. The band undoubtedly possesses good technical skills that emerge well in this LP: the guitar riffing sees the musicians performing very complicated scales at impossible speeds in the faster moments while in the slower moments, the chords dominate, much simpler to execute but of indisputable power; only the plain solos leave a bit disappointed due to their simplicity and incompleteness, but overall the two guitarists do a very good job. As far as drumming is concerned, the exact opposite can be said: in fact, the drummer gives his best precisely in the slowdowns, where, alongside the usual, grim, and devastating double bass drum roll, he performs effective passages and various counter-tempos; this does not happen in the faster parts, where he remains anchored to a canonical Blast Beat. The bassist's performance is excellent, as he is allowed some truly interesting and well-inserted breaks, unable to make himself heard in such a chaotic musical proposal. A note of merit also for the singer, capable of alternating a growling of the right pitch with rarer screams, always achieving a disruptive effect. Finally, the production is absolutely perfect, the kind every band dreams of for its “creature”: clear enough not to muddle the sounds but able not to deprive the entire work of power.

At this point and seeing the rating, you might think I suffer from a split personality and that there is a Tepes no. 1 who praises Incantation and a Tepes no. 2 who, unbeknownst to himself, gave it a “neither here nor there” rating. Yet there is a "but,” a series of flaws that make this record anything but a string of pearls. The songs, in fact, although they present many tempo changes and demonstrate a certain structure, are internally very repetitive: within each song, they propose the same riff multiple times, obtaining the effect of terribly boring the listener. If you add to this the fact that the repeated riffs are mostly the slower and heavier ones, you will understand the soporific effect this album can have. This could be attributed either to a lack of interest in songwriting care (unlikely for a band that, albeit grudgingly, remains underground) or, plausibly, to a myopic stylistic choice.

At this point, it could be pointed out that this is a typical flaw of all Doom works: but unfortunately, this is not the only limitation of “Decimate Christendom.” The songs are not only formed by riffs replicated to collapse but are all based on the same structure: this not only makes them hard to distinguish but makes the entire CD excessively monolithic and boring. However, the most glaring stain on this LP is the fact that it reprises, without changing a comma, patterns about fifteen years old and reproposed throughout their career: in short, the final impression is that of facing a clone of one of their past masterpieces. And to realize this, just take the booklet and give it a read: the usual themes of anti-Christianity and Satanism are served up once again, just like their music.

I am the first to love a certain crushing mood, the one that leaves the listener gasping for air, but in this release, Incantation did not realize they went too far and gave birth to a monotonous, predictable, and emotionally sterile work. Certainly, it deserves a passing grade, but I simply cannot give it more: there are songs that are appreciable and worthy of repeated listening, but they remain a limited minority. Most are decidedly negligible and not very relevant. Those looking for a well-played and formally curated product or who are a longtime fan of the band will see their expectations satisfied, but I feel compelled to assert that “Decimate Christendom” is a CD to listen to but not to purchase.

Incantation remains the same, but so does their music, and as powerful as it is, it fails to mask a certain lack of ideas. A good CD, not necessary, superfluous even on the shelves of the most die-hard Death Metaller.