Coming at you from Phoenix, Arizona comes INCITE, which will hit you like a wrecking ball to the face. They’ve released their debut album, The Slaughter, and it’s guaranteed to slay the metal scene! I read on their Myspace page, “Written by Metal-Heads for Metal-Heads,” and that’s a great description. The Slaughter is pure metal at its finest! Obviously, I liked this album, which is no mystery, but let’s get into it a bit.

First, Richie Cavalera, on vocals is the step-son of Max Cavalera (Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy), so that had me pretty intrigued right there, as I’ve been a fan of both Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy. I was excited to hear what Richie had up his sleeve, and apparently, he carries around a whole lot of metal in his blood! Second, INCITE has already toured with some monster metal bands, such as Throwdown and Dillinger Escape Plan. All that being said, though, without both of these facts, INCITE has released a very original sounding metal masterpiece. Fans of thrash metal will find many parts of this album that they like.

The title track, “The Slaughter” is the first full length song on the album, and as soon as it started, I was hooked. Richie’s voice couldn’t have been better for this song, or any of the others for that matter. It was actually the blasting drum beats that really had me interested, though. Some pretty solid guitar riffs round out this song perfectly. An extremely fast, head-bobbing, thrash metal song.

“Nothing To Fear” is up next, and it keeps the full-on intensity of the album going. The entire album is intense and brings a ton of energy throughout each song. Speaking of each song, not one song really sounds like the others. All are intense and lightning fast, but each has its own unique feel. Different guitar riffs and slightly different percussive beats to keep everything interesting.

“Army of Darkness” starts with a groove-heavy guitar riff that had me out of my seat and on my feet. Between you and me, I wanted to throw up the horns during the opening guitar riff. This song brings so much metal, it’s ridiculous! This was the song where I decided that no matter what the rest of the album threw at me, it was going to be a great album and one that I would be listening to for days to come. Every time I listen to the songs on this album, I pick up some minor detail that I didn’t hear during the previous listen, or maybe a part that was previously overlooked as being as awesome as it is.

Fast, intense, shredding guitar riffs, blisteringly fast percussive beats, and killer vocals all combine to deliver an extremely, fun metal listening experience!

While I’ve only touched on a few of the tracks on this album, every track is a necessary listen. A few reviewer’s favorites would be: “The Slaughter,” “Army of Darkness,” “Rage,” and “Down and Out.” I really can’t say enough good things about this album. It definitely lived up to the hype for me. I would honestly have to say that The Slaughter is a must own album for any metal fan. Now, quit reading what I’ve got to say and grab this cd!

5.0/5