Incantation and the Tectonic Fracture of Death Metal Doctrine at the Foot of Snežnik (2023)
Incantation (support: Cryptic Terror)
Ilirska Bistrica / MKNŽ (Mladinski klub Nade Žagar) / Slovenia
Monday, 17 July 2023
Incantation are today considered legends of death metal. They are, practically speaking, one of the pioneering bands of this metal subgenre. Part of the New York death metal branch — alongside generational peers Mortician, Immolation and Suffocation — they were in the first wave a driving force behind pushing metal’s brutalization and reaching expressive extremes the world had never heard before. A band you simply have to respect. For the cult opus. For the defiant stance that knows no compromise and refuses to adapt. Simple as that. For nearly 35 years now. Incantation are old acquaintances of ours and have played in Slovenia before. But this visit from the notorious brutal horde — more precisely the quartet commanded by the indestructible musical visionary, driving force, vocalist and guitarist John McEntee — was truly something special. The band showed up at the legendary Ilirska Bistrica club MKNŽ. And with an excellent setlist that vividly spanned nearly 35 years of the band’s work (the full setlist is at the bottom of this review).
Just how revered and sought-after Incantation are in extreme metal circles was confirmed by the outstanding turnout at this cult club venue — one that already radiates a kind of biblical quality the moment you clock its entrance, once you’ve leafed through the lexicon of the Slovenian underground club scene. It was no trouble at all finding a dozen attendees who had come from Italy and Croatia alike (some thoroughly hammered death metal fanatic and devoted generator of alcoholic derivatives, who had been hanging off me deep inside the club and growling in my ear, swore he’d come all the way from Slavonia). And that’s before we even get to the Slovenians. Anyway, to ensure this evening was truly inscribed as a tribute to the lord of hell, one more event pitched in. On the way to MKNŽ, a few kilometres before Ilirska Bistrica — coming from the direction of Ribnica — the ‘radiant’ Lucifer himself demanded his tithe. A small crew from Goriška, travelling to MKNŽ, had ploughed into a young doe and offered her up to the lord of the flies.
Let’s move on to MKNŽ. Local heavyweights Cryptic Terror kicked off the crowd warm-up. The band, founded in 2016, who last year managed to release a live demo (»Demo ’21«) recorded right here at MKNŽ, brought an incredibly bold choice — and, given the headliners’ credentials, a very compatible one. The quartet got the crowd moving for a solid half hour with their own material (Bistrc ’91, On to the Fire, Relentless Christianization, Štala, Internal Organ Grinder, Dance Of The Rotten). About halfway through the set they decided to throw in a cover of Swedish death metallers Unleashed (Before The Creation). They are raw and primal, drawing their vision from the old school. The band definitely delivered, as confirmed by the crowd’s reaction — especially in the second half of the set, when a good dozen punters decided to ‘work out’ by vigorously shaking their cervical vertebrae (the usual gym routine at these gigs involves lifting half-litre cans). The guys are fiery. You can tell they need more gig experience, though. More miles on the clock. Apparently instability has taken its toll, a byproduct of the ongoing search for a steady lineup. The official PR introduced the band as having broken up and reformed more than once. On that basis you’d think Cryptic Terror had been around since the eighties. Anyway, enough rambling. Hopefully the crew has clicked, recalibrated, and will find the momentum to write material for a debut studio album. They definitely need more live experience, though.
In an hour-and-fifteen-minute set, Incantation unleashed a genuine storm-force tornado that thoroughly flushed out the ear canals and reset everyone present to the primal vibration of their individual calling. It may sound overly philosophical, but picture yourself stepping into a purifying fire. McEntee has three stallions alongside him who don’t just play at the highest level but also carry out their leader’s vision with exceptional skill. Excellent growl vocals from John McEntee — with that truly old-school lever that drove the songs straight into the painless embrace of sinister blasphemy and winked at the vast kingdom of the devil himself. And all that extraordinary accessibility radiated by the great leader and his crew. The sense of fulfilment watching the mob of fired-up Incantation devotees going mental in the club’s very own pressure cooker was just the cherry on top of their outstanding tightness and performance acuity. Professional and with a sense of eternal devotion to the thing that makes your heart beat. That’s metal. No half-measures. You either are or you aren’t. Ready to bleed from the ears? Literally.
Newest drummer Charles Koryn (also of Ascended Dead and Skeletal Remains) is a genuine revelation — his technical sharpness and polish, combined with sheer drive (the man was born when Incantation already had their second studio album out), backed by the active bass lines of Dan Vadim Von — otherwise guitarist in the current Morbid Angel lineup — elevated the material with an extra dose of devastating napalm. His contribution particularly sparked in the slower passages, whether through vivid rolls or the clever deployment of a devastating double bass pedal. As lead guitarist, Luke Shively (co-founder of blackened thrash metallers Dismemberment) has been backing McEntee since 2020, having previously spent a good number of years as Incantation’s touring bassist. All of which means McEntee can genuinely relax and enjoy the new touring cycle with a truly excellent crew around him. And that’s exactly how it felt in Ilirska Bistrica. The merciless heat — all that intense, suffocating weight of stale air, with not a hint of a breeze anywhere in the venue — didn’t get to McEntee and company, and Incantation handled that side of things with considerable professional distinction too. The wild crowd surely had their part to play, fully enjoying themselves and surrendering to the violent detonations thundering out of the darkest depths of the apocalyptic abysses of old-school death metal occultism — the legendary band’s immaculate blasphemous requiem. The devotees’ participation alone further stoked the band, who in the overall tally delivered a truly excellent performance.
Incantation also unveiled a brand-new track that evening — Concordat (The Pact) I — announcing the imminent release of new studio album »Unholy Deification«, due out 25 August 2023 on Relapse Records! The new track slotted into the live set beautifully.
An evening with Incantation — in Ilirska Bistrica’s legendary MKNŽ, no less — ranks among those somehow unforgettable gig experiences you collect on the long road of attending every possible concert. Given that this club has been known since the days of Odysseus’s wanderings as an impenetrable alternative rock fortress, it is apparently now opening its doors to metal bands as well. So on 8 August 2023, British black/speed metallers Midnight are announced, with support from sharp Scottish metal prospects of a similar stripe, Hellripper. Very, very likely we’ll be back at MKNŽ again soon.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Incantation setlist:
1. Carrion Prophecy
2. Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies
3. Disciples of Blasphemous Reprisal
4. Lead to Desolation
5. Desecration (Of the Heavenly Graceful)
6. Concordat (The Pact) I
7. Blasphemous Cremation
8. Once Holy Throne
9. The Ibex Moon
10. Impending Diabolical Conquest
11. Profanation
12. Siege Hive
