New York's Incantation, formed by guitarist John McEntee,
topped anything that had been done in the genre of vicious death-metal with
their debut
Onward to Golgotha (1992),
a lo-fi album deliberately produced in a murky and even filthy way,
but no less crushing and breakneck.
Jim Roe's drumming was average at best, but
Craig Pillard's vocals were a force of nature and McEntee's guitar
was a weapon of mass destruction, and somehow the whole was
devastating. The very fact that they were not as technical as others,
and the doom elements, made them de facto the pioneers of an
"ugly" subgenre of death-metal.
Mortal Throne of Nazarene (1994) is an album of tidal riffs
(Iconoclasm to Catholicism,
Ibex Moon,
Emaciated Holy Figure,
Nocturnal Dominion)
but also with more prominents elements of doom-metal (especially in the eight-minute
Abolishment of Immaculate Serenity and in the melodic
Demonic Incarnate).
The 48-second Blissful Bloodshower is one of the most feral concentrates of metal ever.
The album was re-recorded and reissued as
Upon the Throne of Apocalypse (1995).
Tribute to the Goat (1997) is a live album.
Their death-doom fusion peaked with
the 17-minute Unto Infinite Twilight/ Majesty of Infernal Damnation,
the tour de force on
Diabolical Conquest (1998), a multi-movement suite with
tempo shifts that combines
doom anguish and death vitriol.
The experiment benefits from
a much cleaner production, from
Daniel Corchado's vocals, and from new drummer
Kyle Severn.
The Infernal Storm (2000), with
Mike Saez on vocals and
Dave Culross on drums, is a collection of mostly mid-tempo songs that lean more
on doom than on death but also display more cerebral ambitions
(the seven-minute Heaven Departed).
Blasphemy (2002), with the rhythm section of bassist Joe Lombard and drummer Kyle Severn, was too self-indulgent (even a 23-minute ambient closer, Outro).
Decimate Christendom (2004) is the album on which
McEntee decided to become the band's vocalist
(fronting the same rhythm section).
The songs are neither particularly original nor particularly obvious, just diligent routine.
Ditto for Primordial Domination (2006), largely uneventful.
Six years later,
Vanquish in Vengeance (2012) displayed a bit more ambition
, with the eight-minute Profound Loathing and the eleven-minute
Legion of Dis, increasingly dominated by doom-metal sound, basically satanic masses.
The appropriately titled
Dirges of Elysium (2014), recorded by a new quartet with
guitarist Alex Bouks and bassist Chuck Sherwood,
contains another lengthy suite
(the 16-minute six-movement Dirges of Elysium) and the sound
kept slowing down.
XXV (2016) is a compilation of re-recorded and live songs.
More and more polished productions characterized
Profane Nexus (2017),
with Sonny Lombadozzi replacing Bouks on lead guitar,
and Sect of Vile Divinities (2020),
albums that were the exact opposite of groundbreaking.
Tricennial of Blasphemy (2022) collects rarities and unreleased songs.
