GRAVE HERESY – Incineration Victory

Incineration Victory by the maniacal Swedish bastards collectively known as Grave Heresy is a bone-pulverizing, face-melting delight that merges chaotic black metal and grimy death metal to stunning effect. All the usual quality death metal-related adjectives such as pummeling, aggressive, infinitely dark, oppressive, and utterly malevolent apply to the nine tracks that constitute the full-length assault, but what truly adds to their appeal are the way in which they have been arranged and how catchy most of them are. The disc does hold some cool twists and a few surprises here and there, and the record simply flows so incredibly well from beginning to end that I never lose focus or interest in what is going on. Judging by the performances and the level of confidence that is on display throughout, these guys are definitely giving it their all, which is commendable. The unpolished sound and the brutal aura of the blistering material work in its favor, and the unholy affair is quite concise and to the point with very few moments or ideas appearing superfluous or without purpose. A stellar and relentlessly intense release that every extreme metal fanatic ought to add to their list of records to listen to as it is as loathsome as it is memorable. Its highlights include the title track and the album closer named relentlessly bitter “Warhead Worship.”