Incantation

Incantation function as a cornerstone within American death metal. Their debut full-length Onward to Golgotha emerged on Relapse in 1992 and established an approach defined by punishing riffs and tempos that shift without warning. Although the members reside in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, New York City has served as their primary base for decades and continues to place them at the center of its death metal community. Decades of extreme satanic metal kept the group far from mainstream attention, yet Dirges of Elysium in 2014, Profane Nexus in 2017, and Sect of Vile Divinities in 2020 each registered on assorted industry and streaming charts. The band extended this pattern in 2023 by marking more than thirty years together with the release of their twelfth studio album, the defiant Unholy Deification.

John McEntee and Paul Ledney formed the group in New Jersey during 1989. Ledney departed following the first demo, Reh.1.3.90, to pursue black metal instead of death metal. Will Rahmer, founder of Mortician, served as the initial lead vocalist and appeared on the Entrapment of Evil EP issued by the small Seraphic Decay imprint. Craig Pillard soon replaced Rahmer and remained for several years. After signing with Relapse in 1991, the band recorded the Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies EP and then issued Onward to Golgotha in 1992, which featured Pillard on vocals and Jim “Eno” Roe on drums. Subsequent Relapse releases included Mortal Throne of Nazarene in 1994, Upon the Throne of Apocalypse in 1996, Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish in 1997, and Diabolical Conquest in 1998. Following Infernal Storm in 2000, Incantation left Relapse and moved to Candlelight for 2002’s Blasphemy.

McEntee, the sole surviving original member, had already handled guitar and lyrics; after the band joined Listenable Records late in 2003 he also assumed lead vocals. His first effort in that role, Decimate Christendom, appeared in 2004 with the lineup reduced to a trio that remained intact for Primordial Domination in 2006. After touring in support for two-and-a-half years McEntee placed the group on a temporary hiatus.

Incantation resurfaced in November 2012 with Vanquish in Vengeance, now a quartet comprising McEntee, drummer Kyle Severn, lead guitarist Alex Bouks, and bassist Chuck Sherwood, who had replaced Joe Lombard after Lombard’s suicide in January. Strong critical response prompted more than a year of primarily European touring. Upon returning the band recorded Dirges of Elysium, its final album for Listenable; the record arrived in 2014 accompanied by the band’s first music video, for the single “Impalement of Divinity,” and unexpectedly charted in the middle ranks of the Heatseekers list. Another extended tour followed. While the musicians were on the road, New Jersey’s Necroharmonic Productions released the two-disc compilation Unholy Massacre and the live album Rotting Spiritual Embodiment, both drawn from 1990s material.

After returning to the United States Bouks departed for Ruinous, prompting Incantation to re-sign with Relapse. The resulting power trio of McEntee, Severn, and Sherwood delivered Profane Nexus in August 2017, the band’s tenth studio album. Mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö, it reached the Top 40 on the Independent albums chart; a video for “Lus Sepulcri” accumulated more than 100,000 views. The group appeared at festivals across Europe, South America, and the United States during the Relapse-sponsored Contamination Tour alongside Dying Fetus, Genocide Pact, and Gatecreeper. The label later issued the Contamination Tour 2018 EP, a split featuring two tracks from each of the four acts.

Incantation expanded to a touring quartet once more with temporary lead guitarist Sonny Lombardozzi and headlined American stages for most of 2019. Late that year the band returned to the studio with Swanö. Lombardozzi performed the majority of lead parts, though his eventual permanent replacement Luke Shively already contributed guitar to the remaining tracks.

Advance video singles “Fury’s Manifest” in July and “Entrails of the Hag Queen” in early August generated anticipation for Sect of Vile Divinities, which appeared in August. Pandemic-related travel restrictions prevented touring in 2020, yet the album outsold every prior release upon release and entered the Top 50 on three industry charts as well as the Top 40 on multiple metal streaming lists. The 2023 release Unholy Deification presented a ten-song Lovecraftian set positioned at the intersection of death metal and doom.