I.N.C. - Terrible Things (2019)

While Black Hearse Serenade was a sizable improvement over the first 'reunion' era album from I.N.C., Terrible Things is a bit more of a baby step forward in quality, and an album that sounds like a quintessential slice of New York thrash, an evolution of the style that bands like Anthrax and Overkill laid out throughout the 80s. In fact, it's an album that is very likely to appeal to fans of those two bands, especially if you were keen on their material through the 90s when they were trying to explore their sound envelopes a bit more with some groove metal, but not limited to that. This album also drops off a bit of the Pantera sound I felt had infested the two albums prior to it...perhaps not entirely, but it's been replaced here by some good gang shouts and a lot more fast, thrashing energy, threaded with some classical, memorable leads like in "Identifier".

This album hits hard and it hits quick, packing a lot of punch into 3-4 minute tracks, and almost always having a nice surprise tucked in there like the harmonized, higher pitch shouts at the climax of the aforementioned "Identifier". They use some catchy, descending harmonies akin to stuff that you'd hear from Slayer or Testament in their classic phases, and the selection of riffs through the album is an even balance of the powerful-but-predictable sort and others that are just plain neat. Not only is the music the best they've written in the 21st century, but the vocals are really on point here, with a kind of blend of shouts, barks and melodic chorus parts that almost seems like a mix of modern Anthrax and Germany's Paradox (check the chorus for "Declaration"). Power/thrash metal would not be a bad tag for this stuff. The bass tone is better, the drumming is exactly what it needs, and like the prior album they incorporate plenty of dynamics from outright frenzied thrashing to some brief and appreciable breakdowns that don't ever teeter on cheese. It's also a consistent disc, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, like there'd be 3-4 good songs and then the rest might be rubbish, but the quality is evenly distributed throughout, and I think some of the better chorus parts and riffs are even backloaded on the thing.

A few of the lyrics are a bit too plebeian and mediocre, and as I said only about half the riffs are really sticky, but Terrible Things thwarts its own namesake to easily take the crown of anything I.N.C. has accomplished since its reformation. The effort and resilience here really shine through, and this is one I'd have no problem recommending to fans of modern 21st century thrash which doesn't take too many bites of the retro pizza, but attempts to enhance or re-imagine a band's primal 80s style into a modern context. I think there's just as much an appeal to Euro thrash or power/thrash fans of Destruction, Artillery, Accuser, After All, and Paradox as I.N.C.'s own New York peers. It doesn't have the quirky personality that their first two albums had 30 years ago, and if I were in the mood for I.N.C. those are what I'd still reach for, but if you think of this last decade's releases as a different band, this abolishes its predecessors, and hints at even greater potential going forward. It's also pretty satisfying to hear a veteran band bounce back like this after splashing around in the stagnant puddle that was Heaven Sent...Hellbound. I.N.C. is now worthy of your radar again.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://incband.com/

I.N.C. - Black Hearse Serenade (2014)

While they were never in contention as being one of the better East Coast thrash bands in the 80s, the Indestructible Noise Command was still a silly, fun group which clearly put some effort into their riff-sets. In fact, they actually had come up with a pretty unique sound that I found easily identifiable, separate from their humorous peers in Ludichrist or M.O.D. So it was sort of a bummer that over two decades later they'd release an EP and third album which felt as if they'd been corroded by banal 90s groove metal influences to the extent that they really didn't sound much like the same group. Oh, you could still tell they were thrash at the core, but the personality of those Giant Records releases was all but scraped off the bone and we were presented with something that didn't really have much to offer anyone who actually had nostalgia for I.N.C. in their formative years, or really any fan looking for a decent thrashing in 2010-2011, whether contemporary or retro.

However, while Heaven Sent...Hellbound could have just been a one and done (or one and a half and done with the Bleed the Line EP) midlife crisis attempt to tug at their roots, it turned out these dudes were serious about being back, and a few years later release Black Hearse Serenade. Right from the onset, this is an album that certainly doesn't look like it's fooling around, and probably not endowed with the comical elements that made their first two that endearing. Indeed, this album sounds like a hybrid of Pantera, Pissing Razors and Anthrax, still moored in some 90s groove influences but to be honest, there's quite a lot of honest thrashing material here which is far superior to the material they dropped in 2011. Busy, hard-hitting riff patterns that constantly keep you guessing, even when they burst out into some pretty vapid grooves, and some decent guitar leads, speed picked harmonies, and so forth. They certainly sound like they were technically proficient enough to compete along the groove/thrash hybrids we heard a lot of through the mid to late 90s, but with a production that suits this past decade snugly. You can tell there is quite a lot of effort placed into the composition and the execution throughout the entire album, and the riffs often border the technical, with a lot of punchy muted patterns devoted to making an audience's necks sore, potentially other body parts.

Now, don't let me deceive you into thinking I liked this one all that much, because for all that work put into the instruments, they almost all fly in one ear and out the other. The note selections are just not all that catchy, and while it's busy stuff, and unpredictable, it's not ultimately interesting. I also didn't care so much for the vocals...unlike the early years of I.N.C., Dennis' style here is like a schizoid combination of Phil Anselmo's tough guy drawl and Belladonna's soaring New York clean vocal style, perhaps even dusted with a little of the John Bush style in the chorus parts. Once again, plenty of effort when into building these vocal lines, they never feel cheap or ill-conceived, but I think it's just that I'm not really into the style other than some of the songs from its originators. If you put this side to side with Razorback or The Visitor, it really doesn't sound like the same band at all, and about a decade too late for when it could have made its maximum impact. That said, this one is far better than Heaven Sent...Hellbound, it's much better than stuff like Damageplan, and I found myself appreciating at least that this band took the style it was using a few years earlier, sharpened it up and went all out here. I think if you're looking for something like a more 'purely thrash' Pantera then this one might be worth your time to at least check out, but I'll stick with the early stuff.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://incband.com/

Fates Warning - Theories of Flight (2016)

I suppose I'm a little beyond concern as to whether or not Fates Warning will ever be a truly 'great' band again. Their 80s power metal streak will always remain a monumental component of my collection, and their subsequent shift into pure progressive metal/rock territory on records from Perfect Symmetry to Inside Out will forever stand as a finer example of stylistic evolution that would help launch about a thousand other bands into similar waters throughout the ensuing decades. These days, if they can simply write coherent tunes and avoid the slump of quality and creativity they suffered from about 1995-2000, then I suppose I'm content, and like Fates Warning X or Darkness in a Different Light, Theories of Flight is a disc that will keep them afloat for several years to come, even if it's not helping them reach any new shores.

This record is expansive and modern enough to escape feeling lazy or like a post-midlife crisis, and it's borne on a mix of the band's more tranquil, feely moments with the jarring, jammy metal grooves that almost all trace their roots back to Rush's "YYZ" and other bastions of prog rock aggression that it's purveyors don't seem likely to evade for fear that they'll lose the narrative. Bobby Jarzombek's drumming is a pleasure to listen to, even if this is far from one of his more intricate or experimental performances, he really keeps the momentum going throughout harder hitters like the opening "From the Rooftops" or "Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen", but still maintains that mechanical/electronic vibe that his predecessor Mark Zonder made a staple of the modern Fates Warning sound. Joey Vera is also a standout on this record, with fat and fluid bass lines that would be fun to follow along with just the drums even if you didn't have Matheos' airier melodies or grooves splattered all over it. The riffs themselves keep really busy across the constantly shifting tempos, and there are generally at least two things going on at a time to draw the ear, though when it comes to the sheer riff power these are just not as memorable as stuff Jim has written in the past. But I will grant him that he keeps the stuff somewhat exploratory and unpredictable as in "The Ghosts of Home".

Ray Alder's own contribution here is flawless, but I have to admit that there were times I zoned out and forgot it was him even singing, as if the years have mutated his vocal chords just enough to rob his timbre of some of the character I identified with it when I was younger. That said, a lot of the tunes seem very carefully fit to his voice, and there's no question that it's all plotted in such a consummately professional way that die-hard fans of prog metal from the last 20 years are not going to find anything to really complain about. The problem I have is just that real lack of memorable quality to the songs...even after numerous spins through the disc I just wanted to break out Perfect Symmetry or Parallels...there is no "Through Different Eyes" or "We Only Say Goodbye" to be found on Theories, even if there is more ambition, technicality and variation inherent in the material that they've assembled for this. I think it's a decent effort, an exhibition of proficiency and competence and loyalty to a fault. There is nothing here I could honestly say that Fates does 'wrong', but it just isn't one I'm going to reach for when I need a fix of Alder-fronted mood music, and I'd really like to have a modern Fates disc on the level of the excellent Arch/Matheos debut.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://fateswarning.com/

Fates Warning - Darkness in a Different Light (2013)

With a 3D origami graphic that seems taken straight from some forgotten prog rock record of decades past, it becomes immediately apparent that the Fates Warning revival, after nearly a decade of studio absence, will not be yanking upon their early 80s trad/power metal roots, but instead dialing to a point later in that decade where they transformed into their more subtle, progressive phase which produced a streak of fine records in Perfect Symmetry, Parallels, and Inside Out, before wearing itself thin with the lazier, inexpressive, weaker songwriting that characterized the three later full-lengths which led up to the hiatus. Or at least, that is what I hoped when I was gazing upon the packaging of Darkness in a Different Light, and fortunately I wound up rewarded with what came across to me like an amalgamation of the mechanical nuance of Perfect Symmetry/Parallels with the cleaner, modernized production punch of Fates Warning X.

Yes, a truly throwback Fates Warning record is not and will likely never be in the cards, but with the advent of the Arch/Matheos collaboration that's no longer really a necessity. While that excellent debut, Sympathetic Resonance had a more contemporary appeal than The Specter Within and Awaken the Guardian, it was close enough in feel to satisfy the nostalgia, and potentially leave us two avenues with which to answer our cravings. What I really wanted out of Darkness in a Different Light was another Perfect Symmetry, a slightly dark, prescient and melodic piece with memorable songwriting that could endure for decades. This isn't nearly on that level, I'm afraid, but certainly exceeds the mediocrity that defined the group's 1997-2004 phase. The sole loss to the previous lineup, drummer Mark Zonder, has returned to his alma mater Warlord and produced a comeback of its own in The Holy Empire (in fact a better album than this); but here he is replaced with Bobby Jarzombek, a player with superior technical ability that could play on almost any recording under the sun. Not to discredit Zonder, whose simple and steady performance was a great match for Fates' aesthetic transition in the late 80s, but just the presence of Bobby alone hints at a more energized, exciting selection of tracks...

...which is, to an extent, an accurate depiction of Darkness in a Different Light. There is unquestionably a sense of revitalization and commitment to the material, perhaps spurred on by Matheos' success with the John Arch collaboration. Fates Warning seems hungry again, and though mechanically there is little here which seems a 'progression' beyond anything they released through the 90s, there is a greater focus on the core strengths of riffing, pacing and melody that kept them near the pinnacle of the niche back in their prime. The songs here will not so much haunt or impress anyone to the point that they'll be hummed on subway trains or in cubicles, but they achieve a median between the gentler emotional moments of their past balladry, and the stolid post-Rush grooves characteristic of Fates Warning X, Disconnected or Alder's other bands Engine and Redemption. Though Jarzombek's drumming is clear and away the most complex and harried component of the music, I like that they've brought back some fairly well developed chorus building in cuts like "One Thousand Fires" and "Into the Black". Though there are a lot of thicker 'boogie' grooves that dominate the harder end of the record, I like that several of the rhythm guitars had a tone and phrasing straight off Perfect Symmetry.

Alder's not exactly taxing himself, and he hasn't for many years now, but his presence certainly carries much of the material with a wealth of subtler dramatic shifts and smooth, sustained intonations (as in "Kneel and Obey"). The guy's not spitting out catchy line after line, but he's also not repeating himself ad nauseum with the boredom I've experienced on other albums, and he really works to contrast the start/stop nature of the grooves in pieces like "O Chloroform". Clean, feely, processed guitars are still pretty common, but there's an appreciable array of metallic riffing that spans from the later 80s material, when progressive metal in general felt more exotic, to the marginal nu- and groove- metal stuff that had started to infect the band in the 90s, but nothing feels cheap or redundant. The leads are definitely cut from a wilder, flashy hard rock cloth in tunes like "Into the Black", but they're not exactly memorable. I also have to say that I'm just not too impressed with the bass lines. Joey Vera is normally fantastic but they seem to subsumed by the rhythm guitars, even though his tone is crystal clear. As unusual as it seems, Alder and Jarzombek are the stars here; most of the guitars serve only as a seat for the vocalizations, and not a lot are interesting independently.

It wouldn't be possible for me to listen through this without consciously comparing it to the latest works of the two other American prog metal bigwigs, and I think it shares that same earnest vivacity for steering the band back to a point at which it truly mattered. Dream Theater might have pulled it off a little better on their eponymous disc, but I enjoyed it more than the most recent by Queensrÿche proper. And yet there's still a sense of a band working hard to where it needs to be, but not entirely succeeding. Darkness in a Different Light is engaging enough where it counts, when you're actually sitting there with the music in your speakers or headphones, but it's very difficult to imagine caring about it a month from now, much less when you're in the mood for one of their classics. If I compare this to any of their first 6-7 albums, whether in the Arch or Alder camp, it falls short in terms of songwriting and overall aesthetic quality. Clearly the time off has aged the band well, and I don't mean to be too down on this, it's a solid record; but I do hope this can prove the groundwork for a record like Perfect Symmetry where most of the songs resonate well beyond their years, despite being well ahead of their original birth date.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.fateswarning.com/

Autolatry - Native (2013)

Ever come away from a film screening, a listening party, or an art exhibit with a broad smile on your face that translates into 'something right just happened'? Well, Native, the sophomore full-length from Connecticut's Autolatry has proven the latest instance of this phenomena for me, a conceptual piece which musically expands and expounds upon the band's prior output (the Of the Land EP) in decidedly thorough and positive directions that help to address any possible shortcomings there might have been. Previously an intensely melodic, harmony-drunk black metal outfit who were already quite skilled, they've now successfully embraced and smoothed over tangents of jazz, folk, and post-rock/hardcore chord progressions into a delightful, dynamic whole that remains compelling across a number of listens, and while perfection might still have eluded the quintet, there is no question that Native demands to be head by anyone interested in forward thinking, eclectic spins on its parent genre.

There is precedent, of course, and I'd be remiss to ignore that established European acts like Enslaved and Klabautamann, or modern US cults like Krallice have already tilled some of the fertile soil Autolatry are harvesting, but these guys seize such aesthetics and paint them onto a personal palette of grace and agony which becomes even more engrossing the further through Native one travels. For instance, "Colony", while a formidable exhibition of (or introduction to) the group's rhythmic versatility and devotion to non-standard chord choices (at least in this niche), barely scrapes the surface of the range of emotions and ideas lying in wait for the listener, and is quickly eclipsed by the bass-driven grooves of "Waning Moon" or thundering blast-work which ushers in "Unrest with the Tide", and from there the surprises never cease, from the warm and proggy bridge of "Pale Dishonor" to the immediately memorable acoustic/saxophone interlude "Setting of the Sun", or the immense surge of the titular finale. Autolatry's sense of pacing here is brilliant, through both the consonant and dissonant flux of their riffing progressions, and combined with the lyrical themes of native New England subjugation during the early colonization of the United States, it's clear we've got an album that is unique and important.

This is not pulled off through strict adherence to conventions, but through creative, proficient instrumentation culled from a number of influences. For one, the excellent, fluid and occasionally frenetic bass playing has its roots in jazz, fusion, or progressive rock & metal, an almost Cynic-level attention to details. Its fat, thriving, swerving tones create a seamless contrast to the harsher discord of the modernized chords, which are just as often steeped in post-punk/hardcore (Sonic Youth meets Voivod) architecture as they are paeans to the formative melodic black metal out of Sweden in the 90s. The drums are everything they need to be: whether blasting in concussive clarity or settling into a rock groove, the strikes and fills are well-placed, well-timed, and I love how they're able to achieve such audible, loud levels in the mix without smothering any of the guitars or the vocals. Speaking of which, the snarling might be considered the least of Native's 'curiosities', but there is plenty of conviction there, an occasional growl, and they thankfully avoid the predictable cliche of the Scandinavian soaring cleans. When Karl Chamberlain goes for a mildly cleaner timbre (as in the bridge of "Pale Dishonor") there is still a lot of grime and constipation there which I enjoyed.

Autolatry is artfully abreast of their US contemporaries like Krallice, Liturgy, and Deafheaven, only more intense, memorable, and less prone to the frustrating bouts of ironic and uninteresting compositional choices that render their works incongruent to the amount of hype they celebrate. Native doesn't bear that same philosophical burden of 'let's be artsy for art's sake' which plagues a lot of unfortunate, insipid hipster neckbeard black metal. This isn't some forestry-obsessed Fugazi with rasped vocals, but an actual black metal album, albeit with a difference. Complex, and challenging in that it will occasionally flood the listener with its jarring dissonance and tempos, but ultimately not difficult to follow or headache-inducing. In fact, the harder hitting riff sequences here proved quite a compelling counterweight to the simpler imagery inherent to the lyrical passages of nature and loss. Like if a reincarnated Walt Whitman, speaking on behalf of the Nehantics, Sequin or Pequot-Mohegan tribes, was putting together a Lulu-styled collaboration with members of Enslaved, Agalloch and  Borknagar. Only awesome. I can't say that I loved this record entirely, since I found 3-4 tunes more interesting than the rest, but at its worst, Native is still bound to be one of the most engaging USBM recordings of 2013. Translation: listen to this.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Autolatry

Morgirion - Infinite Retribution Upon Paradise (2012)

I was quite surprised to find that Connecticut's Morgirion was an unsigned act considering how visually appealing and professional this debut is. Its relative purism to traditional black metal aesthetics and thriving atmosphere are imbued with no shortage of subtleties and bleak aural expositions that hang on the edge of perception while the centrifugal force of the blasting and lower range tremolo riffing serve to anchor its aggression. Like the tatterdemalion osteomancer on its cover, wreathed in its bony ouroboros aura, the Infinite Retribution Upon Paradise juggles spheres of both darkness and light into an acerbic, harrowing architecture, as dynamic as it is destructive.

This is not an experience you're likely to squeeze into your next smoke break, because they've written quite a substantial amount of material spanning 65 minutes, about half of which has been culled from their 2009 demo Leave Nothing to Decay and reintegrated successfully alongside more recent compositions. With such a broad swath of content, I did feel that there were a few moments in which my attention did falter. These tended to coincide with sequences of straight on blasting black metal with familiar chord progressions redolent of Norwegian titans like the early 90s Mayhem or Immortal, or some of the barbaric, mid-paced Bathory riffing found in the bloated, 13+ minute finale "Inception Revoked". However, to Morgirion's credit, even these sections of the album don't destroy its flow thanks to the harried, fill-laden performance of the drummer Matt Jambard, as fine a player in this style as most I've heard from the East Coast; or the tortured echo of the vocals which resonate through the barrage of the guitars like the last gasps of a dying, shaggy predator dragging its bloodied hind legs through a dead winter night.

Where this trio excels, however, is when they incorporate the keys into the core instrumentation to create these twisted, almost psychedelic contrasts of grace and morbid mobility. Examples include the numbing spaced out pads deep in the bridge of "The Final Incantation" or the somber, synthesized breakdown of "Pyroclastic Warfare" with its shimmering, escalating progression that I must have gone back and replayed a dozen or more times already. Once the blasting, serpentine velocity of the drum and rhythm guitar is asserted over this passage, I felt that Morgirion was truly at its most inspired apex of poignant and potent force. I almost wish there were more such instances of balanced escapism, savagery and beauty intertwined, but then, they don't really make a poor showing of more distinctly brutal pieces like "An Ode to Fallen Cowards" with its mix of rasped and guttural vocals, and soothing, distant choir tones.

In addition, they are almost always add some subtler, layer of noise and dissonance through the thrust of the guitars, so even when Infinite Retribution... seems to thrust along closest to its Scandinavian forebears, there is something slightly more on offer than you might expect from a pure, carbon copy worship band. Even if I found some of its tracks more enthralling than others, the album is nonetheless an impressive enough debut that it warrants a recommendation to both the fan of atmospheric, mildly symphonic and traditional European black metal, and the current crop of cavernous death and black metal acts who harbor a similar, multidimensional attack. And what's more: Morgirion is another promising New England act alongside Infera Bruo, One Master and Autolatry which offers us locals a tasteful respite from our Puritan roots, pathetic Irish jock punk and spastic A.D.D. metalcore.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/morgirion

Autolatry - Of the Land EP (2012)

So often do I spend aurally roaming metal scenes the world wide and seeking out new (and old) sounds that I very often neglect to pay much attention to what's happening in my own back yard. To be fair, Connecticut is not exactly a stone's throw away from my present haunt in Witch City, Mass, but I still feel a sort of surreal kinship and personal obligation to laud and expose those New England artists who are worthy of attention. Thanks to some initiative from their guitarist Dave, I can now add Autolatry to this number, a quintet which plays a curious blend of progressive black metal that I simply do not hear much from the Northeast area, but possesses all of the potential and professionalism you'll rarely hear in bands with twice or three times the history and experience.

Don't let the minimalism of its song titles or the simple, rustic cover art fool you: Autolatry creates a heavily textured, fairly complex cycle of riffing which is born half of the late 90s Swedish melodic black metal sect of Dissection and Dawn, and half of the more progressive, recent tendencies you'll find in Norwegian bands like Enslaved or Immortal over this last decade. A heavily rasped drawl is slightly echoed and thrust above the driving, woven tremolo rhythms and floods of chords that comprise the guitar patterns, while the drums and bass throttle along with some measure of distinction all to themselves. Though I wouldn't say that the actual vocal timbre is particularly unique in this neck of the woods, the production ensures that they slice through the dense dual melodies like a stainless steel knife through a heavily seasoned gourmet dish. There are thundering passages, like the suffix of the opener "Mountain", in which the lyrics drop out and the drums and guitars go at it like desperate refugees attempting to survive the bite of cold and wind, but I think the process works best when the band surges into its warmer, enormous textures.

Best example of this is the opening riff for "Oak", which is relatively straightforward and recalls mid-period Katatonia or Rapture for how much depth is drawn out of a deceptively simple chord pattern, but once they break into that second sequence of notes it's pure, emotionally leaden paradise with the vocals set at the perfect meter. "Snow" has a similar effect, though it's thrust forth at a charge, with some fibrous explosions of melody once the tremolo guitar joins in for the final moment. "Stag" is another particularly strong piece, though it's cast from a more jamming, progressive rock mold with the guitars freaking out, individually panned to give off a very 'live' and organic atmosphere. Still, the dense production values and the musicianship are incredibly consistent throughout the 20 minutes of the EP, and each of the four tunes feels different enough that they don't seem to be blandly reiterating ideas from one to the next.

Granted, this is not the most morbid and threatening of black metal associated acts. Autolatry will not be winning a gold...err, gray ribbon for grimness anytime soon. If you seek only hatred, necroticism and utter desolation, this might not prove so relevant to your interests. Instead, they seem to have developed their lyrical aesthetics towards the thriving, restless wilderness around them, placing them more directly in a spiritual parallel towards bands of an uplifting, pagan metal nature and a pinch of New England folklore. I haven't heard their 2010 full-length recording, The Hill, so I cannot compare the two releases, but I just can't think of anything else in this region of the US which sounds quite like Autolatry. Not every riff is incredibly memorable, and I wouldn't mind a bit more alternation between the warm and cold tones, maybe some acoustic breaks or cleaner vocals for added variation (though this can grow a bit cliche). Otherwise, the future seems bright here. Fans of the influences listed above, or the heavier sides of other American staples like Woods of Ypres or Agalloch would be wise to check this out, especially as its available as a 'Name Your Price' download through the band's website.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://autolatry.bandcamp.com/

Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance (2011)

Hearing the voice of John Arch again after about 25 years is like having an unexpected trap door to my adolescence burst open and spectral fingers drag me in. Yeah, I know he put out an EP a few years back (A Twist of Fate) and I didn't pay much attention to it. My loss, but I'm truly glad that he and Jim Matheos have decided to continue their post-Fates Warning collaboration, and even more happy that they were able to utilize other musicians like Joey Vera, Bobby Jarzombek and Frank Aresti who all belong to the extended Fates family. That this is good stuff goes without saying, it's basically a modern spin on the Awaken the Guardian sound with a substantial wealth of compositional flair, and the few errant 'grooves' on the album which don't feel flush with this siren of psychedelia are very easily ignored just to have him back in the business...

In fact, Arch's performance is so crisp, clean and potent here that it feels as if he and Matheos must have built a time device, reached back into the 80s and kidnapped a younger version of himself, held at gunpoint (or being forced to listen to A Pleasant Shade of Grey repeatedly) until he complied. Hey, that's cheating! Nonetheless, the profit is all ours, as we are treated to what might be the damnedest approximation to classic Fates Warning that we are ever allowed to experience for the rest of our lives. I don't know about you, but I'll take it, because there is just nothing else like this guy's voice out there. Sympathetic Resonance provides 54 minutes of well plotted variation, with the catchy chorus melodies you remember, even if it's cast in less of a speed/power metal mold. From the massive, 14 minute groove-prog epic "Stained Glass Sky" down to the elegant seduction of "Incense and Myrrh", each line and just about every riff has been meticulously crafted to forge a balance between sorrow and anger, tranquility and exhilaration.

The leads are simplistic but effective, never staying beyond their welcome as they flirt and flummox through the mass of punching low-end chords and Jarzombek's flexible drumming. Arch is clearly given the center stage here, as it should be, but both the guitars and bass exhibit the intricate and cautionary skill level of their respective musicians, never over indulgent and almost always straight on the money. I also enjoyed how each track recalled to mind a sheaf of text from the grimoir of Fates Warning past. The little, melodic speed licks coursing through "On the Fence" reek of Perfect Symmetry. The gloomy calms of "Incense and Myrrh" and "Midnight Serenade" might have once found a home on The Spectre Within. And "Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)" would have been infinitely preferable to any of the last three Fates albums before they embarked on their recent hiatus.

In the end, this is one hell of a treat, and I hope the collaboration deems itself fit to continue well beyond just the one album. Personally, I wouldn't mind a few more nods to their earlier, rustic speed/power metal material, as opposed to the more modernist jamming context here in the longer tracks that often feels a bit Dream Theater. That's the old school in me, the guy who likes to sit in a woodland or field on an autumn night and marathon the band's 1984-86 material while drinking heavily. A River's Edge moment. But as it stands, the professionalism and the progressive foundations here are considerably engaging, and the voice is undeniable. Thank every constellation in the sky that you are back, orphan gypsy, and thank you too Mr. Matheos for composing the plot line.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.archmatheos.com/

I.N.C. - Heaven Sent...Hellbound (2011)

Last year's Bleed the Line comeback EP was the product of a notably different and disappointing I.N.C. than their 80s incarnation. For some reason, the band had 'grown up' in the worst way, forsaking the frivolous and riffy style of their youths, with slightly ridiculous lyrics, for a straight to the bargain bin amalgamation of 90s groove/thrash metal circa Pantera, Pissing Razors, Machine Head, Exhorder, and perhaps a bit of the more modern Exodus sound (the Rob Dukes fronted albums). The tragedy wasn't so much that the band had mutated upon reformation, but that they chose to more closely mimic an era which in itself was somewhat out of phase. The new material was not necessarily the laziest I've heard, and they anchored it with the solid production values one would expect of its 90s influences, but ultimately the songwriting was an indistinct bummer.

It was highly unlikely that this new direction of old was going to be a random one-off, so at long last the band's third full-length has arrived in Heaven Sent...Hellbound, and it's not a 180 back to the band's finer, formative works, but a direct continuation of the EP's sound. In fact, the whole bloody Bleed the Line track list is regurgitated into the album, so already we are not off to a running start. Of the newer, unheard material, you've got a pretty standard, swaggering tough guy groove/thrash song in "Fist of Fascista", in which the vocals sound almost entirely like a doppelganger of Phil Anselmo, Kyle Thomas or Sacred Reich's Phil Rind, and the bland chugging guitars never develop even a modicum of unique personality. "Swallowed" is total groove metal in the riffing vein of Down or Corrosion of Conformity, while "The Good Bones Stay Down" opens with a slower alternation on one of the "Master of Puppets" guitars; and both "Audio Erotic Asphyxiation" and "It's Coming" feel as if they should be wedged in between Cowboys from Hell and Far Beyond Driven, sans Dimebag's oft admirable ear for riffs.

As for the musicianship, this approach almost never brings out the best of a band. The rhythm guitar patterns sound like the equivalent of random bar or Ozzfest bands throughout the 90s, some nearly sinking to Godsmack levels of disinterest. Once in awhile, they'll attempt a bridge or lead with some personality ("It's Coming" has a good example of this nearing the 4 minute mark), but their guitars just don't seem as inventive as Razorback or The Visitor, which took the blocky power of classics Master of Puppets or Taking Over into a spunky, light hearted territory with some real character. The vocals really piss me off, because Gergely used to have this quirky nasal tone to him that set them apart, where here, he sounds too much like the aforementioned bruisers. Heaven Sent...Hellbound really has only one thing in its favor, and that would be the professional mix of the material: you can hear everything clearly, and the guitars have a nice punch, even when the note selection is not all that exciting.

If the songs were more memorable, then I.N.C. might be forgiven, but unfortunately this just isn't written at the same level as something like Cowboys from Hell, with the crushing muscle and catchy chorus sequences. Today's interest in the thrash genre seems to lie exclusively with 80s authenticity (or 80s clones), or those few technical wizards (Vektor, etc) that continue to develop it along the axis of progression set by prototype acts like Voivod, Mekong Delta, etc, so who knows what will come of this? It's not that this Connecticut troupe were ever really a first class thrash act to begin with, but there was something charming and unique about those first two albums, and it's distressing that they weren't able to wrest out any of that original magic after the 20+ year hiatus. Heaven Sent...Hellbound is a more substantial product than the EP, despite the obvious redundancies, but I definitely wasn't feeling it.

Verdict: Fail [4/10]

http://incband.com/

I.N.C. - Bleed the Line EP (2010)

20 years have passed since the Connecticut thrashers I.N.C. parted ways, but nevertheless they have decided to piece themselves back together and give it another go. This is not an unusual occurrence in recent times, with many of the lesser known, cult acts from the 80s doing the same due to the recent surge in the genre's popularity; a wave of younger, internet-studied fans diving into obscurity for authentic experiences and ripening the prospect. Razorback ('87) and The Visitor ('88) were not enormously popular ventures, but both were heavy on riffs and light on flavor, and they did leave a taste on the buds of firm potential.

A lot of the snarky flair from their previous albums is missing from this EP, and that's rather sad, because they once had a fairly unique perspective on the style, charismatic if not colossal. Three of the original band members have returned: vocalist Dennis Gergely, and guitarists Erik Barath and Tony Fabrizi; and they've got a few heavy hitters joining them, including drummer Dennis Leeflang who has worked with a number of artists in and out of metal, and a guest spot by Guns & Roses guitarist 'Bumblefoot' (who has worked with Leeflang before also). To be sure, Bleed the Line retains a measure of it's 'thrash' values, but what I'm hearing here is very heavily in the vein of 90s thrash/groove like Exhorder and Pantera, with almost all of the band's thrifty, characteristic 80s riffing gone to a duller palette of predictable if professional thrashing.

The first two tracks, "God Loves Violence" and "Bleed the Line" are crushing but not all that interesting, sounding similar to Sacred Reich or the faster, bludgeoning material from Phil Anselmo and crew, with Gergely shifting between his mid ranged ballast and a metallic scream, which frankly, I rather enjoyed (the screams), and would like to hear a lot more of. "Rain" builds a massive, crushing groove to start, but then devolves into some rather vapid groove/heavy rock that once again recalls the Texas tyrants. "Full Metal Jacket" begins with a sample from the film of the same name, a sample that's probably been done to death, and then another faster paced track that will make you want to howl 'fucking hostile!' at some point. "If I Were President" is the most interesting track on the release, a mix of brickhouse shitkicking thrash with some doomed grooves, but it's still not a standout, and by the time "Fueled by Regret" busts out into its chugga chugga metalcore/thrash riff, I was already fueled by that very same emotion.

It's pretty bad, I'm not going to lie, but perhaps the biggest disappointment with this is that I just hear so little of the original I.N.C. in this sound. Granted, with any 20-year career gulf and some lineup changes, I expect to hear something at least marginally different than the original incarnation. That's a given. Yet Bleed the Line could have been released by any half-witted bar band worshiping Pantera, Skinlab, Slayer and Machine Head, and the Indestructible Noise Command that I remember is so much better than what was written for this. It's not the worst thing I've heard; the mix of the EP is polished and hard hitting, but the spunk and spirit of these old schoolers who once wrote "Dry Heaves" and "Razorback" is almost completely absent, and I, for one, will miss it...

Verdict: Fail [3.25/10]

http://incband.com/