Ingested – The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams
Ingested- The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams
Metal Blade Records
Release Date: 05/04/2024
Running Time: 46:06
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10
Have I had too many concussions or did Ingested literally only just put out a record? Well it turns out both of those things are correct, I actually reviewed the band’s excellent “Ashes Lie Still” less than 18 months ago and here we are with another succulent slab of modern Death Metal to aggravate those concussions!
“The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams” is a little less bleak than its predecessor, preferring a more triumphant brand of brutality, but this ain’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either! The lumbering Deathcore grooves of ‘Paragon of Purity’ kick things off in strident fashion. The vocals are suitably ovine and foul and there is a fantastic melodic guitar hook that ties everything together. There is a tendency with this more polished style of Death Metal to sound a little sterile, however the band sound fired up and feral here, which makes sense as the album is self-produced and this is not a band that rests on their laurels. After ‘Endless Machine’ slaps everyone round the chops with some satisfyingly meat and potatoes Deathcore, the album starts to spread its creative wings.
‘Where No Light Shines’ explodes out of a spooky synth intro into some apocalyptic, epic sounding Melodic Death Metal (but not Melodeath). Although he shows his melodic chops later in the record, Jason Evans is largely content to stick to the gnarlier side of his bag of tricks, bellowing like a wounded bear over more triumphant melodic leads that provide the perfect foil to his throat-shredding gutturals. This one has a lot of dynamics to it, meaning when those signature beat-downs do kick in they hit even harder.
Upping the triumphant Death Metal ante is the pulverising ‘Expect to Fail’, which features the mighty roar of Sylosis main man Josh Middleton. The order of the day here is big grooves, massive vocal hooks and more than a little nod to Lamb of God. This is an excellent example of crafting a catchy accessible song without losing the bone crushing edge that makes Ingested who they are.
Not to be outdone on the guest spot side of things, Chimera’s Mark Hunter lends his distinctive pipes to ‘In Nothingness’ and the band meld elements of Alice In Chains and even a hint of Korn onto their Death Metal core to produce a potent and incredibly successful bit of experimentation.
Perhaps the finest moment on here, however, comes from the stunning largely instrumental track ‘Numinous’. After crystalline clean picked guitars usher he song in, symphonic keys provide the dramatic backdrop to some stunning lead guitar work as the song builds and builds to its celestial crescendo. Walls of guitars and percussion provide the bedrock to some gorgeous melodies and cap of a song so stirring that lyrics would only dilute the emotion.
It’s great to hear the band trying so many different things and the whole record has a feeling of freedom to it that so many of the band’s peers seem to lack as they slavishly stick to the genre’s notoriously rigid boundaries. Yet Ingested prove that you can have your cake and eat it, the likes of ‘Starve The Fire’ still give you the straight ignorant thuggery you sign up for, but for every one of those there’s a moody, melodic experiment like the mini-epic closer ‘A Path Once Lost’.
If it is Ingested’s plan to knock out albums of this quality on the reg as they have done of late then count me fully on board, as they have once again proved that they are one of Death Metal’s most reliable mainstays. Same time next year eh lads?
TRACKLISTING:
01. Paragon of Purity
02. Endless Machine
03. Where No Light Shines
04. Expect to Fail
05. Starve The Fire
06. Numinous
07. In Nothingness
08. Pantheon
09. Kingdom of Sand
10. A Path Once Lost
LINE-UP:
Jason Evans – vocals
Sean Hynes – guitars, backing vocals
Lyn Jeffs – drums
LINKS:
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