Band:	Incantation
Album:	Sect Of Vile Divinities
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	August 21, 2020
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Ritual Impurity (Seven Of The Sky Is One)
02. Propitiation
03. Entrails Of The Hag Queen
04. Guardians From The Primeval
05. Black Fathom's Fire
06. Ignis Fatuus
07. Chant Of Formless Dread
08. Shadow-Blade Masters Of Tempest And Maelstrom
09. Scribes Of The Stygian
10. Unborn Ambrosia
11. Fury's Manifesto
12. Siege Hive

After 30 years of existence, John McEntee refuses to let Incantation go quietly into that good night.

Surpassing the double-digit LP mark over such a hefty tenure has certain connotations attached to it -- not all of which are positive. Sure, it signifies longevity, consumer demand, and expertise, but it also incites questions regarding purpose and necessity. Why are they still writing new material? Does the world really need another Incantation release? The dirty dozen plateau doesn't inherently provide answers to those questions, but there's definitely an undertone of rhetoric to them.

Sect of Vile Divinities doesn't hold up to the same standards as the band's back catalog (that much is obvious), but there are particular flaws that extend beyond derivation. For instance, the mixing is completely unsuitable for the drawn out doom passages -- a stylistic Incantation trademark since their inception. There's a mild sheen to the production that combats the tonal atmosphere they were obviously going for, as it's what they're always going for, but it shifts the delivery of the sustained riffs entirely. Rather than establishing an occult, evil, sinister vibe, it comes across instead as awkwardly thin and creates an alteration in perspective towards one of warmth: generating elongated feedback segments that blanket the listener in a soothing embrace -- an unintentional result, presumably. At least Kyle Severn's hypnotic fills help to counteract the lightweight feel of the music, but still not enough to fully immerse the listener in what should have been crashing waves of ominous distortion.

Another notable flaw is the lack of dynamic songwriting. The funereal pacing dominates the flow of the album, which in itself clearly hasn't been the problem up until now, and there are some intricate melodies tacked on in various places and guitar squeals scattered throughout to help break up the mid-tempo monotony, but there needs to be a refined focus placed on meaningful riffs and engaging vibe in order to distract from a listless by-the-numbers album such as this. Interspersed energetic tracks like "Chant of Formless Dread" and "Fury's Manifesto" serve as worthwhile up numbers that showcase the band's penchant for writing killer live songs when they want to, but, again, not enough to be immersive, as this unfortunately doesn't carry with it the same atmosphere of a live setting.

Sect of Vile Divinities is undoubtedly Incantation at its core, but suffers as a consequence of its stripped down simplicity, odd production, and lethargic rehashing of old ideas once executed in far more interesting and engaging fashion. The musicians are more than familiar with their instruments and even play off of each other, hinting at moments of ingenuity, but those twinkling ideas are lost in the blink of an eye in favor of generic chugging and noodling around for the better part of the album's approximate 45 minutes. Perhaps a swan song is in order as it appears McEntee's creative well has run dry.