Mar 31 2024 7 mins
Welcome back to the Metal Debate podcast, breaking down the new release from British metallers Ingested titled The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams. The album begins with “Paragon Of Purity.” This song is exceptionally tight and focused, with the band unleashing a healthy helping of slam riffs, but also an outstanding reoccurring melodic guitar lead which, two-thirds of the way through, morphs into an intense solo. The song closes in violent fashion with a rolling breakdown and vocalist Evans exploding in a cascade of demonic spit-growling. Track two, “Endless Machine,” is a mid-tempo number in the classic slam vein, although it wanders toward tech death territory as it progresses. “Where No Light Shines” has an eerie synth overlay that creates a simple but effective basis for the song’s melody, with the guitar later replicating the synth. It’s a great example of how to seamlessly integrate the death and slam approach. I absolutely love the atmosphere that’s created - just smart, considered songwriting. Probably my fav track on the album. Next up we hear the brutal harmonization of “Starve The Fire.” Evans pulls out nearly every vocal tool in his arsenal, with growls, screams, vocal fry, pig squeals, and rock singing. Guitarist Sean Hynes stays in a support role on this one laying a heavy foundation on guitar with mostly slam riffs and eschewing any lead break. Unfortunately, and despite some memorable lyrics and melody, “Starve The Fire” didn’t seem to be building to anything as an overall composition, and then it just kind of ended awkwardly. On “Expect To Fail” we have plenty of brutality but also the addition of clean vocals performed by Josh Middleton of Sylosis. It’s another mid-paced track, with Jeffs occasionally revving the engine, but mostly the band taking a moderate, meandering approach throughout. Mid-way through this ten-track album comes a twist with an instrumental number called “Numinous.” This one is splendid with gorgeous melodic lead and outstanding backing orchestration. When I first heard this, I thought I had inadvertently started playing some Insomnium, because you get a lot of the same ambience here. In truth, there are hints of that melodic death vibe – albeit with different riffing style – throughout The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams. Track seven is “In Nothingness,” a fairly straight-ahead composition, mid-paced, with another guest vocal appearance, this time from Mark Hunter of northern Ohio groove-core act Chimaira. The pairing is an interesting one – not what I would have anticipated – and while there is some appeal to the versing structure, the differential created between singers didn't quite work for me. The energy gets kicked up a notch on “Pantheon” with more slam riffs and pig squeals if you are in the mood for ‘em, as well as classic breakdowns toward the end. Yet still, if you listen carefully, there’s some melodic elements below the surface, and even a bit of catchiness in the versing. Nothing commercial in any sense, but definitely catchy. Equal in brutality to any other track on the album, but also with a quasi-epic metal feel to it - is “Kingdoms Of Sand.” Somewhat tech-deathy in its precision, at this point you’ll have to have come to appreciate the sophistication of Hynes as a guitarist and composer. The album’s closer “A Path Once Lost” spends its first few stanzas with undistorted guitar and emotive, melancholic singing from Evans. Further in we get some overlapping cleans and growls. The contrast in sound was great, but the lyrical pacing seemed off. A decent track overall, but not among the strongest in my opinion. This album is excellent, although admittedly there were a few tracks that didn’t quite resonate for me. I’m giving The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams a strong 8 out of ten rating. You can purchase the album digitally and in a variety of physical formats through metalblade.com or wherever you buy music.