Incarnated are a Polish horde, formed more than two decades ago (!) by Pierscien (vocals, bass and guitars). During the nineties, Incarnated released several demo and a split with Damnable, and in 2001 there was a first full length, called Human Flesh. In 2006 they returned with another studio album, Pleasure Of Consumption, followed by another split, this time with Reexamine and Parricide (2008). Then things went silent for quite some period, but now Incarnated return with their third studio album, Try Before Die, which sees the light through Selfmadegod Records.
Try Before Die was recorded by Pierscien, guitar player Thomas and drummer Bartosh, and it lasts for thirty five minutes. They describe their approach as ‘Gorephobic Slaughtering Metal’, which is not that untrue. Incarnated present the listener a very grooving and hyper-energetic form of Grind-edged Old School Death Metal with, in a way, a sound comparable to the Swedish-styled sound from the late eighties / early nineties, you know, the Dismember / Nihilist-sound of Old. But the approach isn’t completely inspired by these bands, yet rather by Swedish colleagues like Grave, Vomitory, Carnage, General Surgery, or even Paganizer and Hypocrisy (not their mellow stuff, of course).
I am disappointed by the lack, the total lack, of variety. Most tracks are played at the very same scorching tempo, with almost uninspired riffing, and a rhythm section that prefers violent harshness above technical excitement. It is not ‘bad’ in its worst definition, but Try Before Die is not something you need to try before dying…