Wretched Incarnate - Wretched Incarnate

First full length album for this one man band from the UK. Wretched Incarnate is the name and Mr. Ash Cotterill is responsible for all you’re bout to hear once you push the play button on this first, self-titled album. "Wretched Incarnate" deals with a really old school approach in death metal. Power comes from the riffs here. Morbid Angel meets Benediction sort of… Swirling and right from the abyss on some occasions and straight forward on others. 'Silenced' does the proper introductions. Heavy and loud production is noticed right from the start. Boosts the intro riff that kind of brings in mind Morbid Angel’s, 'Dawn Of The Angry'. Quickly changes into a so typical but ferocious 4/4 death metal beat that stays a while, having a blastbeat break until it goes back to the original riff. A great flow to the entire song and really nice transitions from one riff to the other. The song construction is really simple but it is exactly what’s needed for this type of death metal. Brutality comes through simplicity they used to say back in the day and Wretched Incarnate seem to follow that rule.

'Silenced' is succeeded by 'Mask Of Lies' which follows the same protocol. Snare pre count and there you have it. Thrash drum beat filtered properly to apply the death metal standards, keeping together great old school death metal riffs right from the start. No intros and nothing fuzzy. Simplicity speaks for itself here. The vocals add points of course to the entire outcome. Fitting for the genre growls, uncompressed, straight from the guts to your ears. Their flow although, is the one the guitars create and I think that here is where Ash could get a bit more creative. Giving the growls their own flow in some parts, it would automatically boost the songs a whole level up. Just like it happened with 'Creatures Of The Underworld' having Sam Fowler (Raised By Owls) doing extra vocals and 'Undeathly Conception' were Kieran Scott (Ashen Crown.. etc etc) did the extra work.

After 25 minutes the first hearing ends and off we go for the second. Production is a big plus here. Loud and heavy with a fat bass guitar thickening the sound a lot. Muddy as it should be but also clear enough to tell all instruments. A great approach in death metal and a really good way to set the foot on the right pace! What Mr. Ash Cotterill has done with "Wretched Incarnate" is definitely not rediscover the wheel so if you are looking for innovations, you might as well pass. If what you’re looking for though is well played and straight from the gut old school death metal, then this first full length here is something you definitely need to check!

3 / 5 STARS


1. Silenced
2. Mask Of Lies
3. Narcissistic Siren
4. Hypodermic Syringe Theory
5. Psycho Sanity
6. Ravenous
7. Creatures Of The Underworld
8. Purgatory
9. Undeathly Conception
10. Treachery


Self released
Reviewer: andychristos
Jul 16, 2021
Next review: Netherbird - Arete

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