EP REVIEW: Call Of The Void – Ingested

Over the course of their 13 year career, INGESTED‘s evolution has been gargantuan. The Mancunian quintet have come a long, long way from the unimpressive, cookie-cutter slam of their origins, rising to the top tier of the UK extreme metal scene with their particularly brutal brand of deathcore. Last year, the band released their long-awaited follow-up to The Architect Of Extinction, The Level Above Human, to rave reviews – but not content to bask in the glow of their recent success, INGESTED are back again with a brand new EP. Showcasing a whole new sound, does Call Of The Void signal a fall from grace for the band, or do they continue to rise?

Call Of The Void starts off with lead single Mouth Of The Abyss, dropping in with a level of utterly filthy groove that we’ve all come to expect from INGESTED by this point. Here, we see INGESTED doing what INGESTED do best: delivering a truly devastating brand of deathcore, crammed with hooks and earworms, that is guaranteed to leave any venue little more than rubble. The opening groove is a motif running through much of the track, making way only for bursts of high-octane, ABORTED-esque aggression, and crushing breakdowns. So far, so brutal.

For all the strength of Mouth Of The Abyss, however, the true brilliance of Call Of The Void comes with the two-part mid-section Eternal Kingdoms Part I & Eternal Kingdoms Part II. Taken as one piece, Eternal Kingdoms is so far removed from what would be expected of INGESTED at this point – and not only have the band brought in a vast change in style, but they have executed it absolutely incredibly. Throughout the two parts, Eternal Kingdoms is drenched in emotion, mixing their classic brand of brutal deathcore with a myriad of outside influences. Classic black metal and black-gaze undertones run throughout the songs, and there is far more melody here than you’d ever imagine the Mancunians capable of. Both parts here make up an absolutely beautiful piece of extreme music, and showcase a potential change of course for INGESTED‘s brand of musical bludgeoning.

Bringing Call Of The Void to a close, INGESTED show a return to their tried and tested style with the just-shy-of-six-minute crusher The Empyrean Creed. The band keep a subtle blackened vibe running throughout, though far less prominent than we saw on Eternal Kingdoms. For the most part, however, we see a return to the hook-heavy, thinking-man’s deathcore than they do so well. The Empyrean Creed mirrors Mouth Of The Abyss very well, seamlessly transitioning from groove heavy, down-tempo stomps to blistering ferocity.

Put simply, Call Of The Void may only be four tracks long, but this is unquestionably the best material INGESTED have every put to tape. INGESTED have always been a head and shoulders above the slam/brutal death metal scene as a whole, but here we see them trailblazing at their strongest. With a dark, Lovecraftian atmosphere and undertones of black metal running throughout the EP, Call Of The Void offers something new, something unique, and something jaw-droppingly good. If this EP is a harbinger of sonic violence to come from INGESTED, it won’t be long before they have the world on their knees.

Rating: 9/10

Call Of The Void is out now via Unique Leader Records. 

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