Review Summary: Mid-paced melodic death metal with memorable melodies and dual vocalists.
As I've explained, Incarnia's Proclamation is a mid-paced melodeath album with dual vocalists. The band mixes poetic Greek mythology lyrics with stylistically varied melodies into a finely crafted album. The album is quite conventional, both in structure and composition. What makes this album worthy is the high quality song composition which is both varied, and more importantly, melodic.
The band employs a range of instruments and sound in every song. The opening track Dawn of the Great Rebirth starts off with a grand orchestral opening which is soon joined by metalcore-esque riffs (albeit toned down in intensity). Light and deft guitar melodies provide smooth transition between verses whereas the chorus and immediate solo delivers about one and a half minutes of scintillating melodies.
This trend of varied and melodical song structure is sustained throughout the album. Every song has its distinct and memorable melody(-ies) that will indefinitely stick in the listener's head. The relatively fast paced Festivals of Atonement and Where Fallen Apostle Assemble are redolent of some Insomnium songs (Where the Last Wave Broke, Into the Woods) but are comparably superior melodically. The slower paced and less intense songs however, are in my opinion the better ones. Led by Tears and the absolutely amazing Carrion literally epitomize the album, and even the genre as a whole (withing reason). Led by Tears' brilliance is reflected particularily by the soothing, emotional though not melancholic piano melodies that rival even the best Skyfire performances (which are equally eminent).
Carrion on the other hand, is of such effulgence that words alone cannot describe. The song opens up with a smooth crescendo which expertly transits into a (relatively) furious verse, before reaching the chorus of melodical apotheosis, spurring a hurricane that sweeps across the entire melodic death metal genre uprooting even the most critically acclaimed bands. Seriously, the chorus is that amazing.
The vocalist have some of, if not one of the best (better?) vocals I've heard. The lead (or more prominent) vocal is lower in tone and offers a very 'safe' and conventional voice that's peculiarly easy to understand (unlike Insomnium, Noumena or Arghoslent). The other vocalist has a more raspy voice which predictably (within the theme of this review) provides a lot of variety to the vocals. The two vocals are utilized very effectively through combination and alternating lines. Again, Carrion's chorus is the epitome of this.
It's easy to affirm the band's talent with multiple instruments, as demonstrated by their proficiency in creating highly memorable and ultimately repeat-listenable melodies (and songs). The lyrics are, in much to my surprise equally as praiseworthy. Different to Amon Amarth's neigh-understandable viking terminology, Incarnia's lyrics are not esoteric and employs very little Greek mythology terminology. Thus, the lyrics and story are easy to digest and understand.
I guess this review is longer than most (and I) expected. But hey, this is an highly underrated and unrecognized album and deserves every decimal of my 4.5 score. The only shortcomings of the album are:
1. Some may be offended by the album's short runtime, clocking in at 33.4 minutes (work out the 0.4 yourself). I have no problem against this as this album is 'short and sweet' but also very repeatable thanks to its varied song composition.
2. Some may dislike the distortion effects for the rhythm guitar. It sounds quite muddy and... distorted. I personally like the sound as it actually sets the band's overall sound apart (in a good or bad way).
