Review Round-Up: Gardens of Golgotha

I am back, but my time was well spent listening to many different albums. Album with different names anyway, since about half of them sounded like Incantation. And I got to thinking: how the hell am I going to write so many reviews about the same fucking sound?

Easy.

Be Lazy.

So here are a number of short reviews describing my feelings of each album, with the pre-text that they all sound a lot like Incantation


















Gorephillia- Ascend to Chaos
An album lacking any originality, charm or heart, this cleanly produced, lifeless Incantation fellatio is an insult to the listeners tolerance for blatant genre worship. There is not one thing found on this album that you cannot find anywhere else, and often other places will offer a better product. Devoid of atmosphere and energy, this EP is 5 tracks(and one predictable Intro track, which is a trend that is wearing thin on me) of pointless drivel. The final track, "Tower of Bones," provides the only juice.

Rating: 4/10




















Cryptborn- In The Grasp Of The Starving Dead

In The Grasp Of The Starving Dead is also far from original, but the little things keep it floating and delivering some decent listening. Cryptborn mix some Finnish Death/Doom into their Incantation-style songs, and the fuzzy guitar production gives everything the correct sizzle. A touch of Rippikoulu is a nice touch indeed. The production is properly low-fi and brutal, but also uneven with the vocals mostly lost in the mix. And this is still some very typical stuff, if plenty competent.

Rating: 7/10





















Grave Ritual- Euphoric Hymns From the Altar of Death

This was one of my favorites for the past few months, even though it is fairly basic Incantation worship. The main reason is the energy and atmosphere are in full supply here: each riff is played with blasphemous conviction and the muddy production elicits the feel of a cold coffin shivering with the struggles of its now active occupant. There is nothing of groundbreaking importance to be listened to, but the effort and bleakness of the album is worthy of your time.

Rating: 8/10




















Corpsessed- The Dagger And The Chalice

This EP also impressed me, for many of the same reasons that Euphoric Hymns of From the Altar of Death. The Dagger and the Chalice is filthy, mucky and evil sounding to the extreme, and this young band have fantastic confidence in their sound. The vocals are a particular delight: they are not merely imitating Craig Pillard, and instead seek to bring some uniqueness to the band. Again, nothing groundbreaking or original, but damn tasty regardless.

Rating: 8/10





















Blessed Offal- Blessed Offal

Blessed Offal offer a doomier, more Finnish sounding alternative with their standard Incantation grooves, similar to Cryptborn in a way. But Blessed Offal are clearly a more talented and inventive band. Blessed Offal is slow, suffocating and purpose driven to ruin your sunny day. A fine EP from a band clearly on the rise. The production is a bit clean for this sound, but not as sterile sounding as Ascend to Chaos by any means.

Rating: 8/10