Album & EP Reviews

Ingested – Ashes Lie Still

Ingested – Ashes Lie Still
Metal Blade Records
Release Date: 04/11/2022
Running Time: 44:00
Review by Rory Bentley 
8/10

In my never-ending quest to review everything Metal Blade puts out this year it’s time for some Brutal Death Metal that I’m only allowed to crank when my wife’s out because it gives her a headache (and I’m sick of hearing that excuse as it is – amirite lads?! Eh? Eh?). 

So, you know that Metal thing? Turns out the UK’s fucking great at it. We invented it when some lad called Tony chopped his fingers off over 40 years ago – and we’re pretty bloody great at it in the present day as well. Furthermore, it’s really satisfying that we’re really good at the nastiest, most foul aspects of it, as exemplified by local heroes like Venom Prison, Pupil Slicer and Dyscarnate. Ingested can also be added to that list as they come roaring back with album number six “‘Ashes Lie Still”.

Upon reading the press notes (for once) and seeing that this album potentially offers a departure and a more melodic approach, I was praying that this wouldn’t be the moment the band introduced bland clean vocals and castrated their absolutely vile Death Metal approach. Thankfully this proclaimed dynamism doesn’t compromise on the brutality one iota and still contains enough sonic bile to incite the desire to disrespect one’s surroundings. There are hulking riffs and big hooks throughout the album along with a healthy dose of melody, but the face-breaking intensity is always present; it’s just that now it’s catchy as fuck!

Despite featuring the lilting melodic vocals of Julia Frau, the title track opens things up in a suitably mean fashion, quickly racing to chug city via blast boulevard and shrieking like a seething pig / man hybrid all the way. Stitching the whole thing together is a clean picked arpeggio, that acts as an unsettling motif and a further demonstration of the band’s growth as songwriters. By the time the swelling majesty of the outro has hit like a tidal wave of anguish, it’s already clear that the sonic tweaks Ingested have made are a welcome addition to the band’s strong foundations, rather than an unnecessary reinvention.

On ‘Shadow In Time’ Jason Evans demonstrates his canny knack for creating big vocal hooks without having to do any actual singing and ruining everything. You guys know I love melodic vocals, but this kind of music works best when the front person sounds like a disgusting goblin creature experiencing severe road rage! As if they knew me personally, the band caps the song off in a flurry of deranged whammy-bar squealing and a beatdown section that made me want to commit abhorrent acts of extreme physical violence. More than usual I mean.

Not content with merely injecting their molten brand of filth with more compositional variety, the band have also enlisted the help of some excellent guest vocalists. Aside from the ethereal presence of the aforementioned Julia Frau, Aborted legend Sven De Caluwé lends his haggard pipes to the abrasive stomp of ‘Hollow Words’ and bolsters the scowling mantra of ‘Fuck your hollow words!’ in a cathartic anthem brimming with spite. Elsewhere Trivium main man and Metal polymath Matt Heafy lays down some shrill commanding growls on one of the album’s grandest moments ‘All I’ve Lost’, which features widescreen symphonic parts that elevate the surprisingly vulnerable lyrics to biblical heights.

Despite staying within the confines of Brutal Death Metal, there are enough bells and whistles added to the band’s tried and tested sound to make for an engaging and varied listen from start to finish, with things going out on a melancholic yet malevolent high on the tortured melodicism of ‘Scratch The Vein’. The runtime absolutely flies by even if everything on here doesn’t hit the emotional highs of the gut-wrenching ‘Tides Of Glass’, which is possibly the most successful incarnation of Ingested’s current direction.

All in all, this is an immensely satisfying release that will please the Death Metal die-hards while adding new dimensions and a magnificently huge production job that will no doubt broaden the band’s appeal. Like I said the UK rules at Metal, and this is an example to shove down the stupid throat of anyone that says otherwise. Sorry to be needlessly aggressive but this album does that to me! 

‘All I’ve Lost’ Official Video

TRACKLISTING:
01. Ashes Lie Still
02. Shadows In Time
03. You’ll Never Learn
04. Tides of Glass
05. From Hollow Words
06. Sea of Stone
07. All I’ve Lost
08. With Broken Wings
09. Echoes of Hate
10. Scratch the Vein

LINE-UP:
Jason Evans – Vocals
Sean Hynes – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Lyn Jeffs – Drums

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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