Artist: Entreat.
Label: Moonlee Records
Released: 2005
Runtime: 45:05
Rating: 4/5
Better late than never, I thought, when after a full four years I finally got my hands on a copy of “Deincubation” by Entreat., melodic death metallers from the Littoral region, scattered roughly between Vipava, Nova Gorica, Kanal and Gorizia on the Italian side. Sadly, I don’t know the debut “Shaded”. All my receptors picked up from it were the two mp3s you can stream on the band’s official website, called Once in Fear. The debut came out in 2001, but this analytical “epic poem” is about 2005.
The first thing that hits you is the improved production across the board. Especially the guitars. The guitar production is top-notch. The guitars carry a dispersed, riff-heavy sound, and that dispersion actually builds the thick harmonic curtain just right, with the rhythm section woven in on one side and the vocals on the other. The production also nails the most important thing about the band: the chemistry between the building blocks of the Entreat. sound. The riff curtain is pronounced and warm, yet it still packs a punch with the stormy fury, aggression and relentlessness that the death metal genre demands. The drum sound is improved too, and has largely lost the “boxy” sound from the debut recordings, but the production still hides a few reserves here, as it isn’t entirely precise. The main thing is that the drums, in places still a touch too thin, don’t cut through the mix, and the same goes for the highly compatible vocal growls, which don’t get even slightly annoying anywhere on the album. The growls are also the basic factor that makes “Deincubation” an incredibly listenable record, where the songs all keep their compact sense, or rather their common thread, and where the dynamic flow of moods between chorus and pre-chorus is completely logical, natural and works to the full. What suffers most in the production are the bass guitar lines, which are a bit too trimmed and push less noticeably in the overall sonic spectrum. All in all, the production gets the basic point and purpose across, since it manages to bring out the band members’ excellent musical know-how, the high level of understanding between them in their playing, and in that way, indirectly, also the essence, the spirit, the character, or just the pulse of the band.
The well-coordinated work and understanding of the two guitars in the production is the band’s key attribute, the main driving force of “Deincubation”, which tirelessly pushes the songs forward on its giant wave of rage in a relaxed flow of energy.
Few Seconds In Clearness, followed by Compressed Time And Space, and then Words with its bits of clean, lower-pitched vocals, also prove that the guys have learned to pronounce English better, compared to the broken verses of the song Once from the debut “Shaded”. These are all little things, but they matter a lot in giving this album high credibility from the first second to the last while it’s spinning in the player. Speaking of those songs, the band has managed to combine the motifs led by clean vocals with the motifs that follow the “growl” approach in a pretty successful way. This swapping of motifs between clean and growl vocals also creates shifts in mood and dynamics, adds a dose of unpredictability, and so keeps things interesting to listen to. Miss Norbet, where this contrast between riff-driven death metal doom and a calm section works great, for example after a quiet passage with string accompaniment kicks in, conjures up a mild dose of Moonspell tricks.
The album kicks off with the riff of Ride (Desperado), a typical example of the moment when the old school meets the new trendy groove. It leaves you unsure whether you’re dealing with a metalcore or a death metal band. But once the vocals come in, things get clearer. It’s also a track that shows some reserves, for instance the chorus would be even more effective in terms of atmosphere if it were backed by torpedoing double bass drum pedals, but on the other hand it instantly creates a predatory moment that grabs the listener completely. Thanks to the excellent production of the jerky riff vise of both guitars.
You can still feel that Entreat. owe a lot to the Gothenburg school of melodic death metal, with influential representatives like Dark Tranquility, the older In Flames, and At The Gates too. You really can’t miss it when the terce harmonies get worked into the riffs, or when we’re simply witnessing the single-string frenzy of harmonic picking (e.g. Incubate Scare). Of course, our valiant Slovenes do it all their own way, and that’s really the key news in all this. They approach things in an old-school manner, but with a trendy “groove” production that will surely get upgraded in the future. In 2005, with the genre mostly played out (okay, there are individuals à la Quo Vadis who deny all that), “Deincubation” is a band-aid on the wound, proof that bands that promise a lot are still showing up. “Deincubation” is of exceptional importance for little Slovenia, since it reaches a level of quality that can take on this kind of achievement all over the planet without mincing words. I can say that “Deincubation” belongs in the category of the better albums to come out of Slovenian heavy metal. It’ll be interesting to see what the band offers with its next album.
Lineup
Patrik – vocals
Miloš – guitar
Matjaž – guitar
Peter – bass
Jonathan – drums
Production
Alex Azzali & Entreat.
Tracklist
01. Ride (Desperado)
02. Non Plus Ultra
03. Few Seconds In Clearness
04. Compressed Time And Space
05. Words
06. The Salesmen Of Dreams
07. Miss Norbet
08. Imperfect ID
09. Incubate Scare
10. The Wrath Of Who We Wish To Be
11. In Need Of An End
