Tag Archives: greater manchester

Album Review – Ingested / The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams (2024)

Posted on by
3

UK’s most hardworking Brutal Death Metal and Deathcore entity is back with their eight studio album, showcasing a band willing to expand its creativity without sacrificing the ferocity that made it one of the most impressively destructive names of the current scene.

Not many top-tier Death Metal bands can record and release an album a year and follow it with an extensive tour. That’s hardly ever been the case for Manchester, England’s crushing, visceral Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore entity Ingested. Since the release of their fifth album Where Only God May Tread, in 2020, the band has been on a creative tear that has produced almost a full record every year – even through the COVID pandemic – but has resulted in the kind of musical growth that only comes from constantly practicing, playing, and writing. Now in 2024 the band formed of frontman Jason Evans, guitarist Sean Hynes, and drummer Lyn Jeffs returns with their eight studio effort, titled The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams, sounding as innovative and brutal as their latest opus, the bleak, firestorm Ashes Lie Still, released in 2022. Displaying a stunning artwork by David Seidman, the album showcases a band willing to expand its creativity without sacrificing the ferocity that made it one of the most impressively destructive and technical Death Metal bands on the scene.

The opener Paragon of Purity is insanely slamming and brutal from the very first second, with Jason already sounding inhumane on vocals while Lyn hammers his drums without a single drop of mercy, whereas he keeps smashing our skulls in Endless Machine, another perfect depiction of modern-day Brutal Death Metal highly recommended for some mosh pit action; and an eerie start gradually evolves into another demented display of the band’s trademark sound in the form of Where No Light Shines, this time sounding more Deathcore than ever, with Sean kicking some ass with his devilish riffs. Then featuring guest vocals by Josh Middleton (Sylosis), it’s pedal to the metal in Expect to Fail, with Lyn taking the lead with his fast-paced beats while Jason and Josh make an infernal vocal duet sounding like two demons roaring to each other. After that, their fusion of Death Metal with Deathcore brings to our avid ears another bestial creation titled Starve the Fire, where Jason’s vocals reach a new level of insanity (similar to the latest creations by Ov Sulfur, by the way).

After an overdose of pure hatred and heaviness, the band brings forward an ethereal, enfolding (and a bit too long) interlude titled Numinous, soothing our melancholic souls before all hell breaks loose in In Nothingness, featuring guest vocals by Mark Hunter (Chimaira), with Mark adding his share of dementia to the overall result supported by the massive drums by Lyn, while Sean’s riffs are tailored for some brutal slamming. Pantheon is simply an ode to violence, blood and insanity by Ingested, with Jason proving why he’s one of the top voices of the current Brutal Death Metal and Deathcore scenes worldwide, and I can’t wait to witness the band delivering this wicked tune live; and Jason and the boys continue to deliver first-class aggression in Kingdoms of Sand, where Lyn’s drums sound insanely heavy and groovy. Put differently, this awesome song couldn’t have sounded catchier and more devilish. Finally, the last song of the album, A Path Once Lost, is also the longest and most intricate one, a sinister musical journey spearheaded by Jason’s introspective vocals while still presenting Ingested’s trademark violence, also showcasing a more melodic side of the band.

The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams is proof that once Ingested sniff out a trail of musical blood, they ravenously follow it until they’ve uncovered a festering feast. Hence, if you want to show your support to one of the most hardworking bands of the current extreme music scene, you can check what they’re up to on Facebook, and on Instagram, subscribe to their YouTube channel and also check them out on Spotify for more of their savage music, and above all that, purchase the venomous The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams from the Metal Blade Records webstore or by clicking HERE. I bet it won’t take long for Ingested to deliver another blast of their first-class fusion of Brutal Death Metal and Deathcore in the next couple of years, but it will certainly be really hard for them to beat the quality found in their newborn beast. I said hard, not impossible, because Jason, Sean and Lyn seem to be on an absolute roll in the past few years, and we can always expect the utmost excellence from those amazing musicians.

Best moments of the album: Paragon of Purity, Expect to Fail, Pantheon and Kingdoms of Sand.

Worst moments of the album: Numinous.

Released in 2024 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. Paragon of Purity 4:22
2. Endless Machine 3:37
3. Where No Light Shines 4:31
4. Expect to Fail 4:17
5. Starve the Fire 4:06
6. Numinous 3:50
7. In Nothingness 4:39
8. Pantheon 3:30
9. Kingdoms of Sand 5:23
10. A Path Once Lost 6:51

Band members
Jason Evans – vocals
Sean Hynes – guitars, backing vocals
Lyn Jeffs – drums

Guest musicians
Josh Middleton – vocals on “Expect to Fail”
Mark Hunter – vocals on “In Nothingness”
Thomas O’Malley – bass (live)

Concert Review – Ingested (The Velvet Underground, Toronto, ON, 06/02/2023)

Posted on by
1

The “slam tour of the year” beautifully crushed the “slam capital of the world” to pieces on a hot and humid night thanks to five of the best bands of the current extreme music scene.

OPENING ACTS: Mendacity, Organectomy, Vomit Forth and Devourment

A night of nonstop brutal slammin’ death metal. That pretty much summarizes what happened at The Velvet Underground this past Friday in Toronto, when MENDACITY, ORGANECTOMY, VOMIT FORTH, DEVOURMENT and INGESTED brought to the city the ruthless, venomous Ingesting North America 2023 – The Slam Tour Of The Year, another beautiful event organized by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. By the way, he was explaining to my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography that the guys from Belarusian Death Metal horde Extermination Dismemberment couldn’t get their Canadian visas ready on time and, therefore, couldn’t make it to the concert in Toronto. However, all five bands demanded the fans to raise their horns for those Belarusian slammers, showing how united the scene is and will always be.

And although there was no Extermination Dismemberment it was still a night to remember, with Innisfil, Ontario-based Technical/Brutal Death Metal trio MENDACITY kicking off the event at around 7:30pm, and they more than nailed it with their fusion of technical and progressive sounds with the brutality of Death Metal. Kyle Lam was fantastic on bass, and I just wish the sound of it was a little bit higher so we could all enjoy his rumbling lines better, while Jason and Jeff Burt were crushing their respective guitars and drums. There weren’t any mosh pits as the crowd was still very small when they started, but they got some great feedback form the audience with lots of horns in the air, shouts and claps, and if you’re curious to know how technical and brutal they sound at the same time, you can find their music on BandCamp and on Spotify.

Band members
Jason Burt – vocals, guitars
Kyle Lam – bass, backing vocals
Jeff Burt – drums, backing vocals

After a really short break, more precisely at 8:05pm, Christchurch, New Zealand-based Slam/Brutal Death Metal unity ORGANECTOMY began their pulverizing performance, and I must say they were in my opinion the most impressive of all bands. I didn’t know anything about those guys before the show, and now I’m listening to their music nonstop on Spotify. Frontman Alex Paul was vicious throughout their entire set, inspiring everyone at the venue to slam into the pit, to jump up and down, to do some sick crowd-surfing and so on, to a point that there were only two options for all attendees, which were either being slamming into the pit, or being outside the venue. Their 2022 album Nail Below Nail is freakin’ amazing, and the songs played live from that album such as Concrete, the title-track Nail Below Nail, The Third Mutation, Entranced by Calamity and Coerced Through Submersion sounded insane live! I really hope those guys return to Toronto soon, because their live shows are infernal, and based on the reaction of the band itself to all the action going on inside the pit they’ll surely carry Toronto inside their hearts until their next visit to the city.

Setlist
Impale the Bitch
Terror Form
Entrapped Savagery
Concrete
Nail Below Nail
The Third Mutation
Entranced by Calamity
Severed From Humanity
Coerced Through Submersion

Band members
Alex Paul – vocals
Sam McRobert – guitars
Matthew Bolch – guitars
Tyler Jordan – bass, backing vocals
Levi Sheehan – drums

After such demolishing performance by Organectomy, it was time for Connecticut, United States-based Death Metal horde VOMIT FORTH to turn The Velvet Underground into a cauldron of blood to the delight of all lovers of some brutal slamming. Their frontman Kane Gelaznik looks like a younger version of the almighty George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer, having the same looks, clothes, and even his headbanging and vocals, and that was already enough for me to enjoy their concert to the fullest. Of course the rest of the band was also on fire, in special Nick Herrmann with his sick blast beats, and the songs form their 2022 album Seething Malevolence, those being Eucharist Intact, Carnivorous Incantation, Unrecognizable, Severely Wounded, Predatory Savior and Pain Tolerance drove the audience crazy inside the endless circle pit, including a nice a wall of death. You can enjoy all their sick creations on Spotify or you can click HERE for all things Vomit Forth, and if they have a concert scheduled in your city, don’t think twice and go slam together with those awesome death metallers.

Setlist
Eucharist Intact
Carnivorous Incantation
Unclaimed Cadaver
Rotting Wool
Unrecognizable
Untitled
Severely Wounded
Predatory Savior
Pain Tolerance

Band members
Kane Gelaznik – vocals
Ricky Brayall – guitars
Tyler Bidwell – bass
Nick Herrmann – drums

It was already past 9:30pm when one of the highly anticipated bands of the night, Dallas, Texas-based Slam/Brutal Death Metal institution DEVOURMENT, hit the stage with one of the heaviest concerts you’ll see anywhere. Still promoting their 2019 album Obscene Majesty, the band formed of frontman Ruben Rosas, guitarist Chris Andrews, bassist Dave Spencer and drummer Brad Fincher was ruthless from start to finish, inspiring obviously the crowd to slam into the pit like maniacs and to crush their skulls into a sick wall of death to the sound of songs such as A Virulent Strain of Retaliation, Fucked to Death and Devour the Damned. I just think the lights for those guys were way too red and low, making it almost impossible to see them (and impossible for Keith to take proper pictures of them, by the way), but their brutality was there, stronger and heavier than ever. Their last song, the visceral Babykiller, was the icing on the cake on their flawless and demonic show, leaving all fans eager for more Devourment in Toronto in a not-so-distant future.

Setlist
A Virulent Strain of Retaliation
Fucked to Death
Postmortal Coprophagia
Choking on Bile
Self Disembowelment
Narcissistic Paraphilia
Devour the Damned
Babykiller

Band members
Ruben Rosas – vocals
Chris Andrews – guitars
Dave Spencer – bass
Brad Fincher – drums

INGESTED

Finally, as the clock hit 10:35pm, Manchester, England’s own Slam/Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore institution INGESTED began the destruction of The Velvet Underground with one of the most electrifying performances of the past few months in the city. Spearheaded by their lunatic frontman Jay Evans, and promoting their 2022 album Ashes Lie Still, the band delivered an incendiary performance for an avid crowd eager for some intense circle pits, crowd-surfing and walls of death, and let’s say they got everything they asked for from those UK metallers. There were bodies being carried around nonstop in a lecture in crowd-surfing, with one guy maybe going from the front of the stage all the way to the back, showing how happy the fans were with Ingested’s visceral music.

Their new songs like Shadows in Time and Echoes of Hate sounded even heavier and more caustic live, not to mention of course their demented grand finale with Skinned and Fucked. Jay and his henchmen were absolutely impressed with all the action going on inside the pit, opening a huge smile every single time they saw how excited their Torontonian fans could get while slamming into the pit. Speaking about Jay, that gentle and very polite guy selling their own merch and the stand turned into a monster on stage, with his demonic, piercing eyes, sick grim and demonic vocals setting fire to the concert while the rest of the band was merciless armed with their respective sonic weapons. The Velvet Underground might be a small venue, but the energy flowing from Ingested’s concert on Friday was the equivalent to any arena shows, and I’m sure those guys will return to Canadian lands for another wicked performance sooner than we can say “SLAM!”

Setlist
Rebirth
No Half Measures
The List
Shadows in Time
I, Despoiler
Impending Dominance
Invidious
Echoes of Hate
Copremesis
Skinned and Fucked

Band members
Jay Evans – vocals
Sean Hynes – guitars, backing vocals
Andrew Virrueta – guitars
Thomas O’Malley – bass
Lyn Jeffs – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.