Ingested are one of those bands that I have heard of, and seen, but haven’t really paid a huge amount of attention to despite having been mostly impressed on occasions when they have popped up as a support act at various venues in the UK or early doors at festivals including Bloodstock in recent years. That is not to say they are boring, vanilla or have given rise to any feelings of disquiet, boredom of indifference, it’s just they seemed to peddle a good, if slightly unremarkable brand of death metal. But having wrapped my lugholes around this, the Mancunians fifth full length album, I am more than prepared to dowse myself in petrol and set alight to my bloated lockdown body in penance for having been overly pernicious in coming to a hasty conclusion in summing up Ingested.

In fact, there is much to enjoy in what is a heady brew of interchangeable musical genres available at this table. There’s a cavalcade of straight forward (with a modern twist) Death Metal with a soupcon of Deathcore that complements the blast beats, whilst the guitars shred like a giant cheese grater on the back of a leper. There are moments where the blast beats retreat into the corner like a scolded child and said child’s murderous older brother is released from his chains to eat the cat and defecate on his Mum’s leg. Said older brother is a smouldering slag heap of slowed, downturned guitars with a swing, bump and skip that brings the whole thing down a notch and offers welcome respite, coming across as a more talented and diversified Carnifex or Thy Art Is Murder, replete with triggered drums and booming bass driven musical effects.

The vocals swing from barked, to growls and guttural murmurings that compliment most of what is on offer here. Ingested know that an album of 100 MPH blast beats and guitar histrionics isn’t going to get the job done on its own and would drive all but the purists into a dog pile of scathing reviews and lost patience, so the band change gears up and down throughout the course of this album like an intoxicated getaway driver and manages to hold the listeners attention. Particularly on album opener ‘Follow The Deceiver’ which throws the pace and tempo around like a baby in the jaws of a rabid dog and it’s in these moments, where I find the true heart of this album lies. Where the pace slows, the piggy, growling vocals predominate and the guitars rumble like an impending stampede of wildebeests. This is where Ingested truly shine.

Be in no doubt, Ingested are a very fine band and a group of fantastic musicians. Technically, this is an impressive collection of songs and the playing is exemplary. In-fact, the almost Black Metal leanings of some of this album (especially the keyboard tinged musings on ‘Impending Dominance’ not withstanding my almost total lack of knowledge when it comes to Black Metal), features some truly spectacular double bass work from drummer Lyn Jeffs and is one of ‘Where Only Gods May Tread’s’ highlights. There is a strange melancholic sameness to some of this album but Ingested stay just the right side of being able to colour the more straightforward, death metal elements here with flamboyant flourishes that beg, borrowed and steal from some of the other genres mentioned above.

There is much to enjoy from this album and it augurs well for the UK scene that a band such as Ingested, can firstly write an album as solid as this but also command a cameo from Nola’s finest, Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein on ‘Another Breath’ as well as profiting from a fat production job from erstwhile Crypotosy shredder-in-chief Christian Donaldson. You feel that the further Ingested expand their musical horizons, the further they will grow as a band (if that’s not a contradiction for a band on their 5th album) and you feel their next album, (given the promise shown here) has all the makings of a stone cold classic.

(7/10 Nick Griffiths)

https://www.facebook.com/ingesteduk

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/where-only-gods-may-tread