666 AEONS OF PURGATORIAN AFFLICTION

Pure sonic blasphemy has a name. It has an ill-omened designation that, alas, can in fact be articulated by vocal organs of human design. And ever since their shambling and foul-smelling 1992-debut Onward to Golgotha clambered forth from the very bowels of nameless interplanetary regions like a tainted amorphous, jellylike ‘blob’ of superterrestrial ooze and onto the brittle crust of our earthly abode, that name has been Incantation

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Ah, so there. Now that all those wimpy scenesters, assorted crybabies, quasi-extremists and such irksome lot have been well and soundly scared off, we can finally get down to business. The quasi-extremists may just have had time to ejaculate an evil discharge from their jet-black phalluses thanks to that Lovecraftian tirade above, but anyhow and anyways our predicament should be over and dealt with. To keep it brief from here: Incantation, the old-time Pennsylvania-based death metal unit, are back on the Christ-hacking track with a newly revamped line-up and their sixth full-chapter expletive entitled Decimate Christendom. Marked for profanation as we are, Evilution contacted vocalist/six-stringer John McEntee and bass-player Joe Lombard for a closer breakdown on the restless machinations of the wicked.

John McEntee: “I feel that Decimate Christendom is more of an aggressive album than Blasphemy.  We all think Blasphemy is a great album and a great straightforward death-metal release. When we write an album we just do what we want and don’t care about anything else, and this album is just another example of us being true to ourselves.”

# Judging from the track-listing on Decimate Christendom and the overall conceptual coherence of the band, I presume that the lyrics on the new album pretty much follow in the lines of your previous releases. Are there any noteworthy variations in the lyrical content on Decimate Christendom?

Joe Lombard: “The lyrics are all based on anti-Christian viewpoints. A couple of songs deal with ancient-day Christians and their persecution, while some other lyrics might talk a little about other religions, but for the most part it’s anti-Christian, blasphemous lyrics: what the band has always been about.”

# Throughout the recording career of the band, Incantation have never released an album with a title that was not of a distinctly profane nature. Could you perhaps comment on your ‘relationship with God’ these days as compared to when you released the classic Onward to Golgotha album back in 1992; do you have a different outlook on Christianity today?

John: “I’m not really sure. I really think by the time Onward to Golgotha was released, I was pretty secure in my religious beliefs. I can’t think of anything that is really different. I still think religion sucks and that people should be true to their animal instincts. I think my hatred of religion just got stronger over my many years of playing metal and the experiences I got.”

# Decimate Christendom features the unmistakable artwork of Miran Kim, who has also made the artwork for your previous five full-length efforts, excluding the Candlelight release Blasphemy. How does it feel to work with her again, and could you provide us with a few words on the extremely befitting artwork for Decimate Christendom?

Joe: “We originally wanted her to do the artwork for Blasphemy, but she moved and we had no way of contacting her. Paul Ledney, the first drummer of Incantation, ended up doing it, and did a real good job. We were able to get in touch with Miran for Decimate Christendom, and it turned out killer! The title of the record means the utter destruction of all Christian religions, and she tied that in the art by having different symbols of Christianity hidden throughout the artwork. We’re real happy with the way it turned out.”

# Since 1997’s MCD-release The Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish Incantation have worked pretty consistently with producer Bill Korecky, and have earlier described him as a ‘fifth member of the band’ during studio sessions. Could you comment a bit on your overall collaboration with him as well as on his specific technical input on Decimate Christendom?

Joe: “The music was all written before entering the studio, but during the recording Bill comes up with cool ideas as far as maybe some harmonies and stuff like that. He knows music and can tell if something sounds out of key, and then he might have a suggestion. He obviously knows how to get the sound we’re looking for; he’s been doing it for the band for many years.”

# John MacEntee has taken up the vocal duties in Incantation from this album and onwards, and I would personally like to complement you for the extremely convincing effort on this record. What motivated you to step up to the front and spew forth the vocal blasphemy on your own accord?

John: “Well, first off I have to say that we have had some fucking amazing vocalists that have been in the band or that were helping us out over the years. But when Mike [Saez] left the band we decided that I needed to do vocals; there was no other choice. I took over a year of intense practicing, playing and trying to get the right vocal tones. It was very difficult at first and very discouraging, but I kept at it and I think things worked out great! I took influences from some of the former Incantation vocalists along with other legends like Jeff Becerra, Wagner ‘Antichrist’ Lamounier, Chris Reifert, ‘Evil’ Chuck Schuldiner, Martin Van Drunen and Jon DePlachett just to name a few. I will be the last vocalist for Incantation and things are not changing – so either like it or not. It’s cool to hear that you like my vocal job on Decimate Christendom after all the hard work.”

# The limited slipcase-CD edition of Decimate Christendom will include the bonus track “Exiling Righteousness”; anything special to report about that piece of music?

John: “Hmm, it’s just an extra track that we were going to save from that recording for another release, but when Listenable asked for a bonus track, we said that they could use that one. We feel the track is just as good as any of the other songs on the album, and it was very difficult to choose which of the songs that should be used as a bonus track.”

# You have recently signed with Listenable Records for the European territories. How are things working out with your new label, and why did you choose to leave Candlelight after just one album release?

Joe: “Candlelight did nothing for the band when they released Blasphemy; they didn’t even give us one copy of the European version. It wasn’t until very recently that John finally got one copy from a fan while we were in Europe in May 2004. Listenable, on the other hand, have so far been more than committed to the new record. We feel great about working with them.”

# John McEntee currently runs his own promising underground label called Ibex Moon Records featuring three recording bands. Have you considered issuing any future Incantation recordings through Ibex Moon?

John: “Well, Ibex Moon Records is something I started about a year ago. I originally started a label back in the early 90s, but due to me moving to Cleveland I had to stop it because I had no steady living conditions. So after a lot of thinking I decided to get back into the whole label thing. Yes, we try to release stuff by people who have a sincere feeling in their music, and I only work with bands that I feel I can help get more exposure. I think that the label has some killer bands like Incrust; they gave me their demo at the Recife show we did on one of our Brazilian tours, and we were all crushed by this killer raw death metal band. For me this is the kind of stuff more people need to hear: real death metal and not just the trendy plastic-sounding death metal polluting the scene these days. Also, Bloody Sign is another great band, which after hearing their demo I knew that this was the kind of band we needed to release. I pretty much know right off the bat if the band is right for Ibex Moon Records or not. Estuary is a great death metal band with a thrashy and melodic sound. I think they have a great mix of brutality and catchy songs. They really have a great old-school sound but also stand up there with the heavy hitters in metal music. Basically, we want to do what is best for the bands we work with. If they want their release limited, then that is cool, and if they want the release to be unlimited, that is cool as well. See, I want to work with the band to make them happy and use my connections to help bring out the kind of music I like, and I think other people will like most of my releases if they give them a chance and stop being trend fags [laughs]. I don’t see myself releasing anything from Incantation anytime soon, because I only work with bands I feel that I can help, and with Incantation I would just be holding back the band – but maybe one day. We are looking for more people to distribute our stuff around the world, so if you have any interest please get in touch.”

# Incantation have experienced numerous line-up changes throughout the years. Many people still hark back to the so-called ‘Craig Pillard’ era, while others become all nostalgic thinking of Dave Culross’ instrumental input on The Infernal Storm. Have these line-up changes had any significant influence on the fundamental style of the band?

John: “Well, I think it was killer to work with so many killer musicians over the years. We have learned things from all the different members. What was great about the ‘Golgotha line-up’ was that we pretty much had no clue what people would think about our debut album. We just want to be true to ourselves and play over-the-top death metal. It was just sad because the success we got on that album also ended up being the band’s demise. The ‘Dave Culross album’ was a different experience – but still cool. It was just different because we wrote all the songs with mostly just guitar or with a drum machine. I think The Infernal Storm could have come out better if we were not pressured to get a clean production from one of the members in the band at the time.  But to work with someone like Dave was a great learning experience for me. When you work with great musicians like him it’s impossible to not learn a thing or two about timing and drum playing. It was truly an honor to work with Dave.”

# Incantation have never been afraid to roam the sludgier, doomier regions of death metal, contrary to many contemporary bands whose primary intent, seemingly, is to constantly push the speed limits. What is your personal definition of death metal as a musical style?

Joe: “The definition is the most extreme, heavy, brutal music ever written. It doesn’t have to be fast riffs all the time or slow doom riffs all the time; just heavy as fuck all the time.”

# Evidently, the term ‘East Coast death metal’ as a musical label cannot be distilled into one distinct style as there are, for instance, notable differences between Incantation and a band like Suffocation. Modesty aside, what stylistic impact on the death metal underground scene can be assigned to Incantation?

John: “Well, I feel that most of the US death metal bands have an original sound, but at the same time there are similarities in the intense brutality. Suffocation, I think, was more influenced by the Destruction and Napalm Death style with a more technical edge. Incantation was more influenced by bands like Necrovore, Possessed, Candlemass and stuff like that. But both bands are considered NY style death metal and totally brutal, but not a rip-off of each other. I think that kind of thing really made the NY/NJ scene great. There were also great bands like Sorrow, Goreaphobia, Immolation, Ripping Corpse, Revenant and more.”

# To what extent is it important to have bands on the death metal scene that constantly strive to push the envelope, be innovative and reform the genre as a whole?

John: “It’s always important to push the envelope of death metal. I just feel that more people should look within the style of death metal for influences and not always outside. Now death metal is so polluted with bands that want to mix styles like rap, jazz, gothic and other styles to corrupt the music. Yes, some outside influences are cool, but if you have too much, it takes the essence of death metal away from the music. And I feel that once the fundamentals of death metal are gone, then a band should stop calling themselves death metal. If someone is true to death metal and themselves, then they can still sound death metal, original and innovative without diluting the heavy and dark vibe of death metal.”

# Are there any topical details on the prospective Incantation DVD-release through Mutilation Records? Aside from the live show recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 22nd, what kind of footage do you intend to include on the DVD?

Joe: “The extra footage will be a lot of bootleg shows, live shit and ‘hanging-out shit’. Once the new record is released, we’ll be working on putting that together.”

# How are things shaping up with the forthcoming Clash of Demigods European Tour 2004 with Behemoth, Krisiun and Ragnarok? Also, what are your expectations for the tour, and could you perhaps comment a bit on the other three bands in the tour package?

Joe: “I believe this is going to be the most extensive tour Incantation have ever done in Europe, so we’re pretty excited about it! It should kick ass! You have different kinds of extreme metal bands on the bill, so it should bring in a lot of people. Ragnarok is a black-metal band, Krisiun is a great death metal band, and they’ve toured with Incantation in the US and have been friends with us for years, Behemoth has been getting a lot bigger during the last couple years, so it’s going to be a cool tour!”

# Well, that’s all for now! ]:) Thanks for your patience and willingness to answer my questions.

John: “Hail, and thanks for the interview. Check out my other band Funerus at: www.funerus.com along with my label Ibex Moon Records at: www.ibexmoonrecords.com. Kyle [Severn – drums] also plays in Acheron and Wolfen Society so check them out too at: www.acheron666.com and www.wolfensociety.com.”

Conducted and written by Misereion.