John McEntee and his band of not so merry men return once more to lay waste to your surroundings with another shadowy blast of occult death metal, filled to the brim with blasphemy and darkness. Although this is studio album number ten, they show no waning of their appetite to bring the noxious extremity to your door, in fact the strength of the material on offer puts this album amongst their best in my opinion. For me, ‘Vanquish in Vengeance’ saw the Incantation crew return to form, and ‘Dirges of Elysium’ merely carries on where that monsterpiece left off.
The album opens with the title track ‘Dirges of Elysium’, crawling with a creepy unwholesome nature which sticks like napalm. The slow burning melody seeping like corrosive vomit from your speakers, before seguing into ‘Debauchery’ which suddenly picks up the pace, flowing like black lava, inexorably destroying everything in its path. McEntee’s devilish low growls loom menacingly in and out of the array of pounding riffs, ever present drum attack and roaming bass work, like a demon in a parapet spitting forth venomous diatribes against Christianity. The riffs are fatter, filthier and sparkling with incandescent rage this time around, whether they be trudging doomily (‘Carrion Prophecy’), or revved up to out of control freight train speed (‘Impalement of Divinity’), they just seem that much more grimy and most importantly – catchy. I can even catch touches of modern day Autopsy in their doomier moments, particularly with the usage of slowly drawn out melodies which isn’t a bad thing at all in my book. Album closer ‘Elysium (Eternity is Nigh)’ shows Incantation at their very finest, combining all of their best elements into a song that wouldn’t sound out of place at any black mass, replete with pick squeals and threateningly monolithic riffage which builds into a perfect storm. A truly great album closer that is up there with the likes of Morbid Angel’s ‘God of Emptiness’ in my opinion.
For me, in terms of quality – this is their best album since ‘Diabolical Conquest’. Everything just seems to be that much more focussed this time around. The likes of 2002’s ‘Blasphemy’ and 2004’s‘Decimate Christendom’ had noticeable dips in quality, even a few moments of filler – ‘Dirges of Elysium’ is made of sterner stuff, seeing Incantation rise from the mire once more to possess another slew of souls with their siren-like charms. Evil, sick and packed with more riff than you’d know what to do with; ‘Dirges of Elysium’ cements Incantation’s lofty position in the annals of death metal lore.
(8.5/10 Lars Christiansen)
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