Metal Debate Album Review - Lucifers Crown (Evil Incarnate)

The Great Metal Debate Podcast

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. It's Xander back with another album review. Today we will be taking a look at the newest album from the band Evil Incarnate titled Lucifers Crown. Some of you might remember last summer when I did my interview with Michael Eisenhower, the guitarist from this band and the band Luna in Sanguinum. This band is still very underground despite being around since 1997 and having 3 previous full-length studio albums in their discography. Now they are back with a vengeance unleashing their 4th crushing new death metal record. Let's dive right into this hellish release to see what's in store for both old fans and new listeners alike. First up is the intro track that basically all metal albums must have by law. "Prophetic March of the Devil's Legion" is the title of the typical ominous sounds along with actual feet of soldiers marching before we are treated to the church organ. What you were hearing right now is the first official song titled "Not My Christ”. The church music has Michael's demonic chanting layered over top of it. A drum beat creeps its way in but the evil vocals continue. It's not a satanic band without mentioning the number of the beast. Let's put it this way, if there's no 666 in my evil music, it's not evil enough. This is followed up with a different kind of chant where we hear the words "I masturbate" which is a little funny until you realize how blasphemous it is. If I'm going to give any kind of constructive criticism, I will say that the song drags on for a little bit longer than needed. I don't see any reason why this song has to be almost 8 minutes long especially since there seems to be a slight bit of repetition in the lyrics. "Undisputed Outlaw" brings a little more satisfaction to my ears as the drums are certainly faster and the guitar riff has a little more groove to it. While we're on the subject of the drums, let's talk about Patt Maxwell's usage of cymbals. The sound mixing really makes those crash and high hat cymbals stand out without overpowering the punchy kick drums. Michael's gurgles and snarls still being very audible are also a nice touch. The opening riff to the next track "Great Dragon of Thunder" has a very Incantation vibe to it and it reminds me heavily of that old school Onward To Golgotha era of death metal where it has a slight hint of doom. As for the rest of the song, its a slow Morbid Angel esq grinding rhythm. The vocals continue on over the guitar shredding throughout the track. Next we get the album title track "Lucifers Crown" which has some great bass lines in the beginning played by Rick Garza. This song has more of those dragging vocals that are very gravely. "Crosses In Disgrace" is yet another slow, doomy style of death metal with a head bobbing inducing beat. "Penetrating Infest" is another chaos stricken track with its fast popping snare drums. The carnage proceeds with "Black Box of Fear" and its foreboding sense of dread. "The Corpse Born" is another unrelenting track full of pummeling percussion and unclean grimy guitar chugs. Everything I've described so far about this music can be said for the rest of the album. All the songs are good and sound diabolical which is exactly what you should come to expect from a band like Evil Incarnate. I'm going to be fair and give this album a nice little 8 out of 10 rating. There are so many death metal albums that have come out in the year 2023 already so it's difficult for me to choose the ones I like the most. If I were to compare this band's greatness, I would put them alongside the new Creeping Death album and the newest Conjureth album. It's too early for me to lump them in with the Incantation category, but I certainly feel like it has the potential to be a runner-up. As always, be sure to show your support for the underground and you can purchase their music through Bandcamp.