Album Review: Ingested - The Surreption II
Reviewed by CJ Claesson
Slam Metal ist krieg.
Any devoted metal fan knows that you don’t just throw that tagline around without meaning serious business. UK slam / technical death metal / deathcore giants Ingested have certainly meant business since their creation in 2006.
While many bands decide to simply remaster and re-release previous albums - for the 10 year anniversary of the sophomore album ‘The Surreption’ Ingested decided to take a different route and completely re-record, reimagine and modernise it by releasing ‘The Surreption II’. This reimagination is filled with a new attitude and a new take on the album, which some fans argue didn’t live up to the debut. Fair, they set the bar really high for themselves with ‘Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering’ in 2009. In my eyes, it was a perfect debut which introduced the band's brand of slamming brutality mixed with the mid-2000s deathcore spice. After having had Annotations of an Autopsy’s now notorious EP ‘Welcome To Sludge City’ from 2007 ringing in my ears for a while and seeing bands like Martyr Defiled forming an exciting UK deathcore scene, Ingested was a welcomed addition. They were razor sharp from the very beginning and the merciless assault vehicle is still running on a full tank, as they prove time and again, by releasing apex brutal metal.
Truth be told, I personally didn’t need a beefier / modern version of ‘The Surreption’. Since its 2011 release it’s been ranked in my top 5 best deathcore albums of all time. Sure, it’s not as prominently gory as the previous release and the ‘core’ aspect might have been turned up and the slam qualities slightly turned down. However - it’s just so fucking heavy. I remember hearing ‘Kingmaster’ for the first time and the first break around the 1:10 mark still gives me goosebumps. Listening to the two albums “side by side”, I still prefer the first release as it’s the one I fell in love with.
Although, by completely re-recording the album Ingested are able to not only show their evolution as a band but also shine a brand new light on an album which might have been overlooked by many. It’s a brutal walk down memory lane and it serves as an interesting insight into the band’s history. In addition, it’s especially fun to see a band reimagine previously released songs and by doing so giving them the respect they themselves think they deserve.
‘The Surreption’ (either version) is hands down top-tier technical death brutality and I am thrilled for these songs to have resurfaced in such a flawless way. The modernised ‘The Surreption II’ perfectly reflects present day Ingested and when you press play you’ll be exposed to 44 minutes of the finest deathcore / tech death the UK has ever produced.
‘The Surreption II’ out via Unique Leader now!
