Asphyx - Incoming Death (2016)^{Release ID: 2486}

I have never liked "The Rack".  There I said it.  Thankfully, the Dutch death/doom mob got better immediately with "Last One On Earth" which still remains one of my favourite albums of all time to this day, and although I openly admit that they are guilty of a lack of consistency I found the last two Asphyx albums reasonably entertaining. "Death...The Brutal Way" and "Deathhammer" both receive regular plays still and the latter even made my "end of year list" for 2012.

"Incoming Death" picks up more or less where "Deathhammer" signed off. There's no major shift in sound or style to report and there's no major ball dropping to report (thankfully) either. The bulk of what I have to say about Asphyx's ninth full length is how familiar it is. Opening track "Candiru" blasts off proceedings as in the outer stratosphere before you can blink. Track three, "Wardroid" is where the more doom edge of proceedings comes into play with its rumbling bass and slow crunching riffs over Martin's familiar demented growl.

Only three tracks in though and the album starts to feel like a B-side to "Deathhammer" which is a shame since although I enjoyed the previous outing I do feel a bit more distance needs to be put between releases soundwise. That having been said the almost foot tapping chug of "The Feeder" does breathe some new life into the Asphyx cadaver. Also though I note a little bit of a sterile sound to some of the guitar work here which is a shame as the crunch of the Asphyx riffs have always been a big draw for me.

There's the dreaded "filler" on the album unfortunately. "It Came From The Skies" should have been left flying about up in the ether really and there's some evidence of Van Drunen struggling on "The Grand Denial" which is one of the slower tracks. I also get the sense of a hint of the timings on the riffs being slightly off on this track in places too.

Thankfully though there are positives to balance the record out. The title track is a raging fucking monster that turns the screw nicely as it progresses without ever losing impact and "Forerunners Of The Apocalypse" is a galloping romp of a track to follow up with. The final track too is a great closer, and whilst I don't enjoy "Incoming Death" as much as I did it's predecessor it is by no means a shit record. It could be planned better and perhaps a long look at the production technique wouldn't go amiss, but it is a perfectly acceptable piece of death/doom. I just expect more than merely "acceptable" from a band with the stature of Asphyx.