Now this was a pleasant surprise. With a name such as DEMON INCARNATE I was expecting an average mix of Black / Death Metal, which is so typical lately. But no. As soon as I pressed play on the first track, I was amazed. The only thing I could think midway the opener ‘Grinder’ was "This is going to be good". And in my humble opinion, it was. DEMON INCARNATE have managed to mix Doom Metal and Stoner Metal with some Sludge and a lot of groove in their self titled debut album. I can hear traces of Messiah Marcolin’s style in Lisa’s performance. Oh yeah, did I mention that they have a female vocalist? She has a really obscure tone and her performance is amazing; trance like, dare I say. They also have some (old) THE GATHERING melodic lines, very reminiscent of their "Mandylion" album. When things get heavy, the band reminded me of an (old) PARADISE LOST / CANDLEMASS hybrid. And I could not deny the CATHEDRAL like groove in some songs, such as ‘Demonized’. Production wise, there is nothing much to say. Luckily, "Demon Incarnate" is everything but overproduced. The "in your face" mix with natural sounding instruments is great. Each part comes through perfectly while the gritty guitar, raw bass and pounding drums never loose their identity tone wise. And then you have Lisa’s vocals providing the perfect fit for the music; haunting, ethereal yet powerful and solid. The album has a really tight sound, like if these guys went into the studio and recorded everything live. It’s been some years since I’ve heard a band with such good taste when making dark music that rocks so hard! Covered in a very gloomy and foggy atmosphere, this album is heavy as hell, melancholic and groovy. It has it all. So there you go. If you are looking for a new take on any of the aforementioned bands’ style, go get "Demon Incarnate" now. Even if you are a die hard Death / Black / Thrash / Grindcore fan, I do think DEMON INCARNATE will have you headbanging in no time. Support the band here: www.facebook.com/demonincarnatemusic. And go get their album from their label here: www.fda-records.com