Incantation – Dirges of Elysium
Where Vanquish in Vengeance shared a renewed spark of creativity and intensity within with the world and John McEntee’s vision for the Incantation death machine, Dirges of Elysium finds said spark raging like an inferno. The creative core of John and Kyle Severn remain solid, and you can easily tell this is an Incantation album through and through, BUT John has embraced more of an adventurous spirit on this, the bands 10th full-length.
Dirges of Elysium sounds like a band reborn. The foundation remains the same, but the riffs feel filthier at times, and more melodically vibrant in the same breath as witnessed on the rich harmonies of tracks like Bastion of a Plague Soul. The structures and overall presence/delivery of these songs feels new… like a once tired soldier finding hope and lust for the fight again. John has always been a solid, if not “innovative” riff writer, but it seems like with this release he decided to not worry so much about what Incantation “is”, and write a full album of doom laden vibrant crust that slithers and detonates with interest and structural surprises. Incantation is a band that I still spin frequently and have come to predict shifts in music before it happens. Not anymore. John is thinking outside of the box and it sounds fantastic. His vocals finally feel perfect in this band, for the deeply guttural vocalists in Incantation’s past left their unfuckwithable mark. John has found his comfort zone and identity with the brutality, and continues to hurl in higher register shrieks for a nice impact. With the colorful unfurling of this new and inspired direction, Incantation in 2014 strikes and once again amazes with a full album of well considered death metal that truly does stand along.
Though there is very little chance that anything to ever come in Incantation’s future will dethrone Diabolical Conquest as my favorite album, Dirges of Elysium is an exciting slab that hasn’t had me this fired up for this band since Diabolical Conquest. Well done! Hail the Incantation institution! Bring on the doooom! -Marty
Listenable Records
Worm Gear 
Reblogged this on Hades Smokin' Cologne.