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What I am about to review is a masterpiece, a gem that any fan of Death Metal must own, "Onward to Golgotha" by the American band Incantation.
I must say that reviewing an album that has made history in my favorite genre is quite difficult; one cannot limit themselves to merely the strictly technical details. We are in 1992, one of the most incredible years in the history of Death Metal, which also sees the birth of Brutal Death Metal. While many bands during those years achieved fortune, like Obituary and Morbid Angel, others remained increasingly a niche phenomenon, appreciated by only a few. Incantation is one of these, but they never backed down, and indeed they still continue to release albums, always staying true to their style and genre, a raw and dirty Death Metal. For those like me who do not appreciate the application of melody to this genre, and rarely consider the experimentation of certain bands as justified, Incantation are absolute idols. And this album fully demonstrates that.
The song "Golgotha" opens the album with a sharp and brutal riff, then flows into the deep growl of John McEntee, the band’s singer and guitarist. Speed is not the only element of this album though, which also boasts much more Doom parts, with an atmosphere impeccably created by the guitars and bass. The way the four play is raw, dirty; the limited use of technicalities is solely adopted to create the rotten atmosphere that every Old School Death Metal album should have. The drum rhythms are focused on primordial blast beats combined with double bass drum bursts during breaks, McEntee's voice is truly dark, deep, not centered on power like many other Death Metal voices. The themes addressed are, as can be deduced, satanic and anti-Christian, topics the band will explore in all their albums, showing a true passion for offending others' religion. In this, Incantation are very similar to European Death Metal bands, 80% of which came from Sweden, who during those years released avalanches of demos and, when successful, studio albums that have entered history. Yes, because, even if most of you at Debaser believe this statement to be ridiculous, many of those Albums or Demos are extremely sought after by enthusiasts of this genre, despite the bands having largely broken up, with every trace of them swept away by time.
Seminal, that’s all that can be said about this band and this CD.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Devoured Death (02:19)
Rot in your burning crypts, breaking the gates of life.
Deep beneath earth's abyss.
Souls burnt to a dark crisp.
Bodies taken from the graves.
Buried under sacred dirt.
Still embalmed stiff flesh.
Skin burnt to the core...
Recite the words of the living hell.
Arise the ones from the eternal sleep.
Awaken evil ones that rest below.
Come forth and show your rotting soul...
Thriving for days of peace.
Rotting corpse another deceased.
Breaking through their sealed caskets.
Digging their way through the earth...
Summoned the witches gods.
Rigor mortis rotting creatures.
The arising of the dead...
Burning flesh the sensation.
They come forth to steal your life.
Bring forth the deceased...
Bodies taken from the graves.
Burned under sacred dirt.
Still embalmed stiff flesh.
Skin burnt to the core...
03 Blasphemous Cremation (04:24)
Disciples of mockery, blasphemy.
Christ will rot, suffer in pain.
Nailed unmercifuly, grotesquely hung.
Gasping for air, collapsed lungs.
Stripped of vitality, suffocate...
Denied from salvation.
Destroy, the remains of Christ.
For his flesh won't rise.
Burned to ash, Christ's abolishment...
07 Christening the Afterbirth (05:33)
Feast on flesh of newborn life.
Commencing ritual of ancient baptism.
Raise high the fetal excrements.
Bless this birth for it must be cleansed.
Into damnation, sacrifical rite of the newborn child.
Ritualistic mass forever with the god.
Rid the afterbirth of sin...
Into the dark they see, visions of immortality.
Ready to feast on corpses, awaiting the flesh of mortals...
Christening the afterbirth...
Bodies putrified beneath.
Unholy sepulture yet to be revealed.
Decayed beyound recognition.
Preparing the form of a black mass...
Christening the afterbirth...
10 Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies (05:28)
We will be pure in the abyss.
Salvation.
Reigns...
Praying for a dying religion.
The lord will bless us...
Misfortune of God.
The throne is lost.
Christ's fate.
Was a lie...
Beyond the holy grounds.
His souls are torn apart.
Reality has descended upon.
Abominations is the love of God...
11 Eternal Torture (03:31)
The deceased awake from beyond their sleep.
Search for blood and mortal meat.
Maggots crawl out from their eyes.
Feel their pain, it's mournful cries.
Pull your veins, tear out your heart.
Consume the blood, feast on flesh.
Torn apart, intestines scattered.
Alimentary canal ripped and shattered.
Pieces of your body eaten.
Painful death as time stands still.
Where your mind bursts in torture.
Feel your soul be torn apart.
Demons crawling through your system.
Hell has risen, the gods of pain.
Rip your skin, burn your bones.
Internal organs torn and drained.
Smell of flesh burnt to ashes.
Cries of death from hell.
Pain is all you revolve around.
Where the souls of Satan's grounds.
Rooms of eternal torture, reveal endurance of endless pain.
Disintegrating mortals, bodies burn.
There you feel the hellish torture.
Hellish torment, brutal butchering.
Demonic creatures revolve in torment...
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Other reviews
By Tepes
"It is truly sad that works of the caliber of this 'Onward To Golgotha' are completely forgotten by posterity."
"An absolutely mandatory CD for those who listen to Death Metal, not only for its importance but also for its decidedly good quality."
