I have to admit to one of the allures of going to the Deathtoberfest in 2000 at CBGB’s was to see this reincarnation of the original Incantation. I had seen the revamped version of Incantation (of course with the one core member???) in 1998 and was not very impressed. I believe the original The Chasm vocalist was in the band at that time. The original version of Incantation was before my concert days and I yearned to hear that original sound. Rewarded, I was; a fabulous performance that was highly impressive. The reason I meddle through such nostalgia is because if you are a fan of early Incantation, there is no reason not to purchase this disc.

Onward to Golgotha, Incantation’s first and immortal album, was created by Craig Pillard, Jim Roe, Ronny Deo, and John McEntee. Disciples Of Mockery contains the same members, with a replacement for the guitarist, Mr. McEntee. The reason I mention his name previously as the "core" member of Incantation with skepticism is because once the other members left, the band was merely a shell of itself, a meager attempt at its former glory. Incantation’s follow-up album, Mortal Throne of the Nazarene also had the same members as the previous album, minus the bass player. This album was also highly enjoyable. I begin to wonder, "Who was the real backbone behind the original Incantation?" while eating stale Hydrox cookies. With this Disciples Of Mockery release, I have to think that these members were the driving force.

This album is a perfect mix of the first two Incantation albums, taking the best of the two and melding them into one sonic force of blistering death. From Onward to Golgotha the ominous shredded riffs and evil breakdowns (think slow, driving, and dirge-like not the metal-core definition of breakdown which is often merely open strings being played while some guys yells "Its time to die!!!") are combined with the slower aspects of Mortal Throne of the Nazarene, including this album’s unique sound. Some of the greatest bands in death metal created their own sounds that were highly unique and innovative and were unable to be duplicated by others. And who better to replicate this sound than the members who created this sound? The only differences, which are slight at best, are that the slower, pounding riffs are more frequent and that the unique pinched harmonics of John McEntee are not present. Other than that, this is classic early Incantation.

Before you want to slap me with a Thinsulate glove for the frequent references to Incantation, I must state that this has been done purposely. This album could have slid in nicely before The Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish and prevented Incantation from sliding into the abyss that is mediocre death metal. Disciples Of Mockery has managed to re-create that sound that made Incantation both unique and brutal. No experimentation here; you can take your test tubes, beakers, Bunson burners, and Petry dishes and slide them gently into your crack.

This type of release proves to newer bands that you do not have to play 2000 notes a second on your 9 string guitar and bludgeon the listener with non-stop double bass, corny intros, or a bevy of mosh riffs to be considered brutal. This is downright scary stuff and it’s nice to see that it has been re-released for those who missed out earlier. I believe the newer version has 3 demo tracks that were originally available on a split with a Disciples Of Mockery side project called Womb (also worth buying).

Review byDouble Ds