Incarceration is a death metal band that originally hailed
from Brazil, but now is located in Germany. “Sacrifice” is their first
EP, and it is 9 minutes full of heavy-hitting death metal. From the opening
seconds of “Forsaken and Forgotten”, you are sent straight into the abyss of
blazing riffs that Brazilians and Germans have always pulled off best (in their
thrash roots). The EP as a whole shows this thrash influence prominently, as
the band rarely slows down. “Forsaken
and Forgotten” is pretty simplistic, and it barely cracks two minutes, but the
roaring chorus is surprisingly memorable. The vocals are guttural, but retain
that old-school feel. In fact, the entirety of the EP is like a throwback to
the early 90’s. The production isn’t perfect, but it suits the atmosphere
appropriately. As the band never relents, the drums pound furiously throughout
the whole EP, but the 90’s-era production means that the snare doesn’t crack
through your skull each time it is played.
The title track of the EP follows a similar formula to the
opener, except that it puts an bridge where the band takes a slight detour
from speed to give you more pummeling, digestible riffs. It isn’t long,
however, before they return to the breakneck tempos that will give you
whiplash. This song features a solo, which shows homage to Kreator’s axemen of
the 80’s. The final track is pretty similar in terms of its ability to force you to headbang. Overall, it’s hard to find a flaw in this EP. The band manages to
shed the biggest problem with death metal (memorability), while ignoring all of
the issues of modern death metal (production being the biggest contender). This
is seriously among the most impressive releases of the year, and it would be a
disservice to fans of death metal if they did not hear “Sacrifice”.
Highlights
"Forsaken and Forgotten"
"Sacrifice"
Final Rating
4.3/5 or 86%.