2020 continues to throw forearm smashes in my eardrums in the form of awesome Death Metal.  I have been following Incinerate since they started in 1998 which is around the same time that I started my first band Pentagoria.  I had met vocalist Jesse Watson at Milwaukee Metal fest that year and was excited to meet other people from my home state of Minnesota that were into the same style of music I was.

Fast forward twenty-two years and three full length albums later. BAM! Sacrilegivm has arrived.  The most notable change going into album #4 of Incinerate’ s is the change in the drumming department going from Darren Cesca (Deeds of Flesh, Goratory)  to Phil Cancila (Narcotic Wasteland, Malevolent Creation) and also adding Riff Wizard Jared Deaver to the guitar department (Deeds of Flesh, Severed Savior) pairing up with returning riff wizard Ted Isac and bassist Sasha Wilczynski.

Things get heated up to eleven very quickly as the album opens with “Lux in Tenebris” which is an excellent introduction to what to expect with this release.  Catchy riffs and blast beats. The balance between technical and slam riffs is well written.  Clearly these guys are Gorgasm fans. “Cast Out and Condemned” reminds me of Slayer Kill Again. More specifically the intro riff.  Non-Stop. The drum work is absolutely insane.  Sacrilegivm has something different going on it versus previous Incinerate albums.  “Trumpets of War” opens with a hook that would make James Murphy proud.  Layers of melody.  For about two seconds before things getting incredibly heavy and nutty.  The vocal patterns over brutal arpeggios are a nice touch.  The tinkering in the vocal styling on this one is quite refreshing.

“Thrown to The Fire”, is one of most intense songs on the record and really demonstrated the ferocity if drummer Phil Cancila. “Inexorable” has some of the best gutturals on the album and another banger. It even has a bass break! Go Sasha!  “Absence of Divine Power” has the best circle pit riff on the album. You will know it when you hear it.  Cannot not headbang to it. I do not want to give everything away on this because it is a fun album and there is a lot to take in. There are still incredibly brutal slam death metal elements but there are now also almost throwback old-school moments that have a Spiritual Healing Death, Disincarnate vibe that almost act like correct spices used in a world class dish of food.  Perfectly balanced, intense, flavorful.  Juan Urteaga’s production on this is well done.  This is by far the best sounding record from these guys.  Comatose has a winner here.

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