C is for Cookie, D is for Death

Progressive death metal is known for its machine gun double kick drums and alternating Cookie Monster-vocals (the guttural wordless language of demonic sloths) and the glottal torture of throat shredding screeching. Ingested’s Revered By No One, Feared By All fits perfectly into this mold. The guitar riffs are rapid-fire, the kick drums have more triggers than a shooting range, the bass is subsonic and growly and the vocals are aptly demonic. Ingested’s newest offering has limited appeal (it’s mainly for fans of progressive death metal), but if you find yourself in that niche of the metal world, it’s worth a listen.

What sets the record apart from others like it is the shifting rhythmic landscape. It’s not solely blast beats and frenetic blasts of guttural growls and howls (although—and this is not an insignificant problem—the vocals are far too loud in the mix; on computer speakers you can barely hear anything but vocals and kick drum). “Titanomachy,” the EP’s opener, moves back and forth between meandering riffs and half-time grooves between the vocal sections, which dominate the songs– there is not a lot of prominently displayed instrumental wizardry. The approach is reminiscent of Entombed’s classic Wolverine Blues.

“Regicide” proceeds at a more consistently break-neck pace and the stop-on-a-dime unison figures and drum hits display impressive technical prowess, which drops into a stately march and eventually shifts into a sludgy groove. This is then completely ruined by the triggered double-kick— like on most death metal records, this annoying piece of Pro Tools wizardry is splattered all over the EP. “Uncrowned” starts similarly, but drops into a slower groove more immediately, flipping the script on the arrangements featured on the rest of the album. The EP’s closer, “Endgame,” is typical death metal fare.

Ingested’s new EP is a very well-executed death metal release that sets itself apart with brief moments of sludgy, groove-oriented riff sections. One wishes they explored this aspect more throughout the record—it might’ve given the listener more to latch onto. The problems with Revered By No One, Feared by All are problems that mar the entire genre of death metal. If you’re not pre-disposed to extreme metal, studio-generated technical “prowess,” or a certain blue-hued Sesame Street character, there’s not a lot that will convince you to enjoy the record. If, however, you’re already a devotee of death metal or Jim Henson’s character-most-likely-to-get-diabetes, you’ll find plenty to enjoy on Ingested’s new EP.