{"id":82971,"date":"2018-08-07T11:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=82971"},"modified":"2018-08-06T23:02:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T04:02:12","slug":"review-invocation-the-mastery-of-the-unseen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-invocation-the-mastery-of-the-unseen\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Invocation – The Mastery of the Unseen<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Chilean scene just keeps heating up!<\/p>\n

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In case you didn\u2019t get the memo<\/a> earlier this year (both actually<\/a>), Chile has one of the most promising new communities of morbid, graveyard-dwelling, subterranean death metal with a distinctly austere, sombre, and often occult sound that stands unrepentant and proud amidst the now well recognized American, Swedish, and Finnish schools. Compared to the old school approach of other lesser known examples like the Polish, Mexican, German, and Dutch schools, the Chileans are considerably stronger now than during the 90\u2019s. Emphasizing sinister tremolo melodies often with a blackened nature (coinciding with the heavy presence of blasphemers like Nihilifer<\/strong>, Henosis<\/strong><\/a>, and Dead Moon Temple<\/strong>, some of which are partially death metal) and a deliberate, ordered approach to songwriting, the Chilean approach manages to be as ominous and otherworldly as groups like Grave Miasma<\/strong> or Dead Congregation<\/strong> yet as rooted in a genuinely riff driven militancy that avoids empty atmospheric showboating. The Mexican sound is the closest I can think of to them but even then only from a very general standpoint.\"\"<\/a>Invocation are a strong example of its strengths, taking classic riffing ideas whose lineage can be traced back to the still thrash-infested primordial waters of the then larval death metal genre yet they\u2019ve removed all of the bounciness and eliminated the chugga-weedle staccato, blending them into surging rivers of molten tremolo riffing that can turn the choppiness of thrash into a near uninterrupted veil of semi-minimalist texture and morphing melody. It\u2019s definitely blackened in that sense but you won\u2019t exactly hear sudden Mayhem<\/strong> or Dissection<\/strong> segments. The black metal influence in that sense is moreso in intent and execution than lifting directly out of that genre, using lengthy phrases of tremolo over fluidly changing tempos that emphasize less crushing impact and moreso a directed, guitar-driven ambience at once hovering and misty yet direct and merciless in its deathgrip on song direction. In that sense it\u2019s also emblematic of many of the better newer death metal bands who hearken back to not necessarily a darker time as much as a sense of mystery, revelation, and gnosis associated with the classics that only recently is moving away from its status as a lost art.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, the way the songs are structured reflects this sense of ritualistic practice from its use of repetition to what familiar motifs and themes build up and reveal a grander picture. Both tracks begin using a strong tremolo pattern that establishes a particular melody that serves as a thematic keystone that the song will break apart and reform to achieve. They then drop into a series of sharper disjointed riffs carrying fragments of similarity in phrasing and shape, building up familiarity and a sense of interconnectedness between them. They are then connected and bridged by a longer and more cohesive riff, resolving their tension with a kind of minimalist elegance that binds the fragmented strands that preceded it into a powerful, singular voice resolving tension through absolute unity.<\/p>\n