Incantation : "Profane Nexus"

So only one member of the current line-up played on "Onward to Galgotha". We are talking about at least having the guitarist who played on one of the greatest death metal albums of all time. So the bar is very fucking high and with "Dirges of Elysium" they proved they were capable of hitting the mark. They pour on the speed with the opener and then take a turn down a dark and angular path.Drummer Kyle Severen proves he can provide the sort of double bass needed to uphold the band's legacy on "Rites of the Locust". I think this album isn't hitting me as hard as "Dirges of Elysium" due to the fact the mix is not as dense. The guitars might be playing faster, but they are not as mean. Some of the solos have a more Slayer like slant to them. .

"Visceral Hexahedron" is more deliberate making it easier to set the  mood. This actually sounds more like Incantation. Where it doesn't sound like them is the production, which would sound better with the vocals not so forward in the mix. Even where the solo sits feels a little awkward. I think this could be a decent song , but I am not sure what their producer was thinking when they mixed this. When the song picks up the pace heading toward the four minute mark things sound better and there are glimmers of production magic here and there that tell me this could have gone differently. I think they probably over thought things. The bass playing is very melodic and borders on being tasteful, but I am not sure it's what some of the passages need. I think the bass needs to bring more guts.

Things sound more promising going into "Horns of the Gefrin". The density increases a few degrees. Even then in the first verse I find myself thinking this could be any death metal. The problem is this is not just any death metal band. It's one that shaped the genre, so why are they conforming to the death metal status quo. I think I would almost be better with them ripping off their previous work. Playing wise there is no denying their talents. Even the newest blood is a seasoned pro. Another positive to this album is they don't drag songs past the six minute mark. So much so that "Xipe Totec" is almost grind core at the minute mark.The dismal throb of "Incorporeal Despair" doesn't pass the four minute mark and that is at one of this album's most doom tinged moments.

"Lus Sepulcri" has a few cool riffs , but cool riffs alone do not make a good song. Though it has more of a classic feel to a lesser extent the same fate befalls "Messiah Nostrum". This song just happens to feel more like Incantation though the production is more Obituary. The song writing rises back to a level more worth of this band's legacy on "Omens to the Altar of Onyx". The closing anthem "Ancients Arise",  This song finds it's haunting stomp meeting at the cross roads of doom and death metal. This song takes you to the darker place that these guys belong at , which is one of the problems with the production, it's not dark enough. Overall even Incantation half assing it is better than most death metal bands so I'll give this an 8. But it's Incantation so it hurts my black heart that this is not a 10.