You know when there’s a stab and then a twanging hefty bass riff…yeah that. Right at the very start. I am already tearing off my clothes and offering myself to this debut from Seattle’s Invocation Ritual. Having only formed last year, and featuring members who have been, or are, in notable other projects in the extreme underground, this is some sort of goddamn statement!
Holding onto death metal as if their grinding little fingers can’t quite clutch it as tightly as they wish, one look at the promo picture for these guys and you know that they mean grotty business. It was as I looked at said picture that I realised that the vocalist for this project is none other than Gabriel Dubko who, aside from his role with Implore, took on voice duties with Wormrot for 2 years and performed in Brixton, London with Napalm Death – a gig I still remember as being an absolute triumph!
Now he’s back with a seriously impressive project that takes as much from Necrot as it does from Benighted. Opener ‘Threat by Example’ tears in with a ferocious pace and a heftiness that underlies the caustic vocal expulsions from Gabriel perfectly. For all 35 minutes, the record never relents reaching aggressive highs within tracks such as ‘Parasitic Kind Of Life’, ‘Catacomb Blood’ and the wonderfully titled ‘Succumbing To Suicide’.
The drum display here as, as is often the case these days, predictably flawless and delivered with an abrasive inner power that no doubt transcends the particularly pleasant human being who is thumping them (called Chris – so clearly a good geezer).
This is certainly amongst the best debut death metal records of the year (along with Tombseeker), and is waddling along with ease amongst any death record released this year. These guys have a gloomy future and will no doubt cross your path soon. The least you can do is get your lugholes around this one.
Best Paired With: A collection of historical gas masks, peeling skin off a wound before it’s ready to be peeled, and banging your teeth with a metal bolt.
Reviewed by Jaff.
Invocation Reality – Altered Reality is out now on Iron Fortress Records.
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