INCANTATION - Vanquish In Vengeance LP (Black Vinyl)

Although they joined last year and recorded two preceding releases, Incantation welcomes Alex Bouks & Chuck Sherwood. While Chuck serves as a new official member, Alex’s addition actually brings the band back to duo guitarists, which opens room for more guitar work than from what you usually tuned into, in the last few releases. This is also the first full-length in six years; the longest the band would ever put out. It generally took them three years per full-lengths, or like towards the new millennia, the band put out five records every two years. One of the major improvements this record showcases is time. The band had a respectable amount of time and they recorded a masterpiece they haven’t recorded in a long time.

Vanquish in Vengeance releases a different beast from the band, something we haven’t listened to in a long while. More importantly, it is fresh and yearning for more. It’s pretty much their longest record when you take into account the exclusion of any preludes, fillers and whatnot. Quite balanced between the classic brutal shorter songs to the doomier ones from six minutes and above. This is a solid ten-track, 52-minute record of intensity, explosive shredding and devouring power chords, delicate drums and bass, and the vocals that make it all worthwhile.