The fast and frankly f**king ferocious follow up to Up In Hell is destined to become a firm favourite amongst head bangers and hair spinners.
I recently interviewed Incite’s vocalist, Richie Cavalera via Skype and I questioned him about a music video the band made, which was reminiscent of Eli Roth’s Hostel movies. He explained they wanted to stay true to the darker image that the band had worked hard to establish with the first three albums. The opening seconds of “Never Surrender” certainly do this darker image justice with background music that produce a real sense of foreboding and wouldn’t be out of place in a slasher flick. In keeping with that analogy, like the hurried foot steps of a deranged, masked killer hiding in the closet (Don’t they always!) Lennon Lopez leaps out and initiates a Fender feeding frenzy of drums and guitars, Richie roaring “Out of the darkness!” Just like a psycho killer would? Does anyone see a pattern of thinking emerging here?
If my sinister description of track one doesn’t get you thinking about mad men and serial killers then just wait till you hear the lyrics on “Lost Reality” it seems to have been written from the perspective of a person who is at war with their own sanity. The perfect cohesion of the instruments complimenting Richie’s terrifying descriptives to full effect.
“Stagnant” as the name hints towards is probably the only track on the album that slows down to a degree. To be fair, when I say slow I don’t mean that Incite all of a sudden put down their guns and start musing over you with a romantic power ballad, I mean slow as in theirs a slight change in tempo compared to the other nine tracks. There’s still lots of the pulse racing double bass and guitar play that Incite have become synonymous with.
The horror themed video that I cover briefly at the top of the page is actually the music video the band made for “No Remorse” for a more detailed description of where the guys derived their inspiration for this video, please read the interview I did with Richie. As a stand alone song, it’s pretty awesome. With it’s earth trembling chorus I can see it becoming a crowd pleaser at future gigs.
When I hear the intro to the albums title track you may or may not be surprised to hear that I immediately start to think the same thing each time, “IT’S CIRCLE PIT TIME!” Richie hinted that Incite may be back to the UK in Summer/Autumn time. Whenever this does happen, I hope they’ll find time to play “Oppression” If not, I’ll be one unhappy Pit Troll.
If you’re not familiar with All Hail The Yeti then I recommend that once you’ve finished reading this review you go check them out. Why did I just mention a completely different band out of the blue you ask? Simple really. AHTY vocalist, Connor Garrity is featured heavily on “Life’s Disease” If hearing him on this track doesn’t convince you to check out his band then perhaps you should invest in a tin of cotton buds if you catch my drift. On a side note Incite are releasing a video to accompany this song which is filmed with 360 degree cameras and will “blow people’s minds” according to Richie. I’m eagerly anticipating its release.
Paying tribute to old school thrash metal bands are “Forced Into Life” and “Worst Of Me” They’re both the type of song that make me look at dudes at gigs and think “I wish I had the patience to grow my hair like you did” This is for one reason only, so that I could simultaneously head bang and hair spin like a dive bombing Apache attack helicopter.
“I Want It All” is easily my favourite track on the whole album. You’re greeted with Jose Mangin of Sirius XM’s “Liquid Metal” screaming “Heavy F**king Metal!” During my interview with Richie we discussed this song and he proclaimed that they wanted it to be the “Definition of metal” With the exsplosive instrumentals and powerhouse lyrical content I think the guys can give themselves a pat on back as they’ve achieved what they set out to do.
With a name like “Silenced” you could almost be forgiven for thinking that after beating you into submission through the medium of metal music, that the final track on the album is going to give the musical reprieve you might be seeking. THINK AGAIN! A big plus point for the album is it’s consistently heavy all the way through. It grabs you by the throat, shakes you vigorously and only when you hear the eerie outro music are you somewhat reassured that the onslaught is over.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Incite live twice, both times ing Soulfly. Disappointingly the energy in the crowd at both of those gigs was somewhat lacking. That is by no means a slant on the band, they always have a level of energy and enthusiasm that many up and coming bands should strive towards. I have high hopes that with the release of “Oppression” it’s solid material will enhance Incites UK and European fan base and for that reason I’m giving the album 8/10
Oppression is out this Friday, April 22nd
