Ingested - The Surreption

The British outfit hails with stocks of extremity, through Siege of Amida Records. Brutality seems to blossom in the local region nowadays, and that’s all the more a reason to dig this act.

First and foremost, Ingested’s sound is infected with technicality. The death metal fundament only exceeds its old school boundaries through modernization, a modernization the band spots in brutal death metal. When it comes to the technical term, this should be distinguished from the ‘progressive tech’ one, in which extremity actually, and usually, restrains itself. The Surreption, Ingested’s second release is a musical statement, through which the band strives to be established in the extreme metal terrain.  The sheer brutality aside, the songwriting process has been somewhat put in priority. The outfit has planned on an album, musically oriented too; the mere slamming, the endless butchering has not been enough, and this is a release to take the relative terms in a whole new level. Well, this works...almost. Certainly, The Surreption is a brutal death metal album also approachable by non brutal death metal fans. This is not due to any brutality having been lessened, but due to an endeavor of injecting nuggets of musicality in the album (as exemplified in Crowning the Abomination, 22, Omega – a great one actually etc.). Unfortunately, this has not been enough to lift the album off; most songs are good. Merely.

The album’s leading force has been the heavy riffage. Meaty riffage, groovy riffage, blasting and tight, stiff. Naturally, precision is the all bonding element, that concentrates any instrument together, and precision’s most faithful servant is the drumming. The Surreption‘s drumming is, however predictable this may be, tight. The very drumming is slightly poor (in terms of inspiration, that is) and although alternations to more groovy-esque or mid-tempo patterns may occur, the over-produced, over-triggered sound repels one. This may very well be a stylistic choice, nevertheless. However, when it comes to double bass pedal and –especially! – drum fills, this is kind of unbearable (A Coming Unperceived ‘s intro is hell of an example, an illustrative one! ) This fakish sound, this breed of artificiality, serves no essence, and the “musicality” wooed stands injured. As for the bass, its lines are quite identical to the guitar ones, and this resemblance renders them difficult to be distinct – its role is auxiliary, supplementing the overall sound.  On vocals, Mr. Evans’ performance is rather welcomed (his lines alternate between a deeper (really deep) one, and a quite harsher, aggressive, more high – pinched accent. This very alternation is a plus.) Mixing duties have been taken up by Mick Kenney of the mighty Anaal Nathrakh (and a few more).

Conceptually, The Surreption is a gore matter. The theme is an over-used one; the vocalist supports it however, with his throat shrieking performance. When it comes to lyrics and brutal death metal, habit mostly prevails.

Concluding, this contemporary brutal death metal release is a decent one. The material is relatively satisfying; the artificiality that runs the album though, is disappointing. This would be a justified move, if inspiration was extinct, and actually balanced the absence of ideas. The British brutality stands renewed in a mediocre package.

6.5/10  Stelios (Ω)