Onward to Golgotha: The Deepest Death Metal

Incantation‘s debut and best work, Onward to Golgotha, remains the deepest death metal album I have ever experienced a quarter century after its release as of today. With material (“Unholy Massacre” and “Profanation”) dating back to the initial founding of Incantation by guitarist John McEntee and drummer Paul Ledney, Onward to Golgotha was a record influenced as much by Bathory and Beherit as it was Morbid Angel and Autopsy.

(more…)

17 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Incantation rejoins Relapse Records, working on 10th album

incantationband2016_638

Relapse Records and Incantation both recently announced through their various websites (including Incantation’s official page) that Incantation is rejoining Relapse’s roster. Incantation’s most recent studio albums (including 2014’s Dirges of Elysium) had been released through Listenable Records; this change of record labels coincides with the band’s upcoming album, which is currently being recorded at the band’s own studio. Incantation will also be touring Europe in April alongside Morgoth, Darkrise, and Omophagia, as well as playing the Czech “Obscene Extreme Festival”. Hopefully, the new album will not be afflicted the “tiredness” a DMU contributor saw in the band’s recent studio work.

16 Comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Funerus – The Black Death

funerus-the_black_death

Following up on its doom-death full-length Reduced to Sludge released in 2011, Funerus surges forth with three new tracks on a 7″ entitled The Black Death to be released on Dark Descent Records within the next few weeks. This short work shows that where Reduced to Sludge finalized the Funerus style, newer works further intensify the strong doom-death sound which has propelled this band for decades of enjoyment in the death metal underworld.

Sounding very much in company with widely varied acts such as Divine Eve, Cianide and Asphyx, Funerus writes grinding death metal riffs which develop over the course of a song with hints of melody and layers of texture, building an incrementally crushing atmosphere around a strong theme. On The Black Death, melodic elements serve a stronger role but entirely without becoming fluff or reducing the impact. Funerus uses melody in death metal correctly, which is to underscore the evocative vocal rhythm of a chorus and bring out variation in riffs so that repetition increases the crushing sense of morbid doom instead of adulterating it. These songs build like the experience of descending into a deep cave, with the heaviness of the air growing more oppressive and the fear surging with each foot further into the void that return from this abyss will be impossible. Where older Funerus relied on more varied technique and sometimes conflicted with the pure power of its doom-death riffs, this new incarnation clears out everything but the essentials and uses them to complement the fiery riffing to give it a further sense of oppressive hopeless violence.

In addition, vocals provided by bassist Jill McEntee, who shares instrumental duties with her husband John McEntee of Incantation, both through clarity of production and greater savagery produce an effect of urgent despair like chanted emergency messages broadcast by loudspeaker in the ruins of a dystopian city. Of the three tracks on this album, “The Black Death” grinds almost like a Bolt Thrower track but builds to a staggering sledgehammer doom-death riff instead of a melodic counterpoint to the abrasive chromatic dirge. The second track “The Minding” applies a melodic Swedish-style death metal riff much as might appear on a Carnage or Amorphis record but throws behind it a bulldozer of rhythmic momentum. Closing out the record, “On the Edge of Death” charges more like early Asphyx and keeps the intensity higher at a mid-paced speed with relentless vocals calling forth like battle command. Together these three tracks show a streamlined, stripped-down and more articulate Funerus that intends greater malice and achieves a sound competitive with the best of the underground that shows us this band at its greatest power yet.

3 Comments

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Glorious Times team produces Jill Funerus benefit show on October 17, 2013

jill_funerus_mcenteeAs you may have read on this site, recently Jill Funerus (bassist/vocalist for FUNERUS) who is also the wife of John McEntee from Incantation ran into a spate of health problems. In addition to battling neuropathy and diabetes, she suffered a heart attack and related kidney dysfunction, but has pulled through.

We congratulate her on having survived such an intense health challenge. However, neither she nor her husband have health insurance and thus, they’re facing some intense bills for the surgery, medicine and several days she spent at the hospital.

The metal community is banding together to help them. Through the hands of Brian Pattison, one-half of the Glorious Times team, a benefit show has been established with 100% of the profits going to Jill Funerus’ medical bills.

Jill Funerus Benefit
Thursday, October 17 at 7:00pm EDT
The Forvm in Buffalo, New York
4224 Maple Rd Buffalo, NY 14226
(716) 831-3271

If you can’t make the show, like many of us who are thousands of miles away, you can send money via paypal to info@funerus.com. If you are from a metal band or have something else you can donate for sale/raffle at the benefit, please message the Glorious Times team via glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com. See also the Facebook event listing.

List of bands supporting the Jill Funerus benefit:

  • Abnormality
  • Abolishment of flesh
  • Abysme
  • Autopsy
  • Barzakh
  • Bernd Backhaus
  • Black Bear Printing
  • Blood Coven
  • Brutality
  • Buried
  • Butchered Records
  • Cannibal Corpse
  • Cardiac Arrest
  • Capathian Funeral
  • Chuck “Patchmaster General” Parsons
  • Cianide
  • Circle of Dead Children
  • Dark Descent Records
  • Darkapathy
  • Deathcrawl
  • Deceased
  • Deformity
  • Demented Dream States
  • Dismemberment (OH)
  • Druid Lord
  • Embalmer
  • Emblazoned
  • Fleshbound Productions
  • Full Blown A.I.D.S.
  • Glorious Times
  • Grave Descent
  • Gravehill
  • Gutter Christ
  • HPGD
  • Horrormerch.com
  • HRA
  • Immolation
  • Impetigo
  • Insanity
  • Jaymz Delisle
  • Jeff Standish
  • Legacy of Death Productions
  • Liquified Guts
  • Low Road Revival
  • Lucertola
  • Malevolent Creation
  • Malignancy
  • Manticore
  • Master
  • Mat Romero
  • Mausoleum
  • Mike Browning (Incubus)
  • Misery Index
  • Music Matters
  • New Order Records
  • Nokturnel
  • Nokturnel Eclipse
  • Pathos Productions
  • Prime Evil
  • Radiation Sickness
  • Randy Kastner
  • Repulsion
  • Rottrevore
  • Sacrific
  • Sam Biles
  • Sathanas
  • Seplophile
  • Signature Riff
  • Soulless
  • Splatterreah
  • Stevo (Impetigo, Tombstones)
  • Tainted Entertainment
  • Vile Records
  • Visions of the Night
  • Wehrmacht

No Comments

Tags: , , , ,

Classic reviews:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z