Engulfed – Unearthly Litanies of Despair

7 Years since the last full length (yes there was an excellent EP in 2020) has been released and finally the 2^nd record on full distance has been unearthed by Engulfed from Türkiye throwing ‘Unearthly Litanies of Despair’ upon mankind.

Fans of dark, obscure Death Metal can put this one already on their list, as fans ranging from mid era Morbid Angel, to Sadistic Intent, Immolation and most prominent Dead Congregation will have a blast for sure.

8 tracks of straight DEATH FUCKING METAL, the sinister way, having the perfect mix between technicality, groove and brutality to create that unearthly atmosphere Engulfed and the aforementioned bands are known for.

The production is excellent once again, as well as the fitting artwork enhances the work of the band.

What I recognized at the first listen is that their songs are more catchy than ever, means killer riffs that have been kept interesting with small details, as well as song structures that work in favour of the songs, not becoming too labyrinthian, which makes this work overall more audible.

The melodic guitar soloing surely helps to makes the listen even easier to digest (talking about Rutan kind of melodies here). Always well written and well incorporated.

The songs are flowing like lava here (Trey would be proud, I guess), heavy and punishing at the same time once it grabs you, like in ‘Infernal Desolation’ for example.

Tremolo picking, blast and double bass sound carpets, thundering bass and guttural vocals, the ingredients are not new, but brilliantly executed (props again to the solo sections).

Another track I want to highlight is the crawling beginning of ‘Cursed Eternity’, a brilliant start, so dark and heavy before it transfers into a blastfest for  a certain period of time, changing again into groovy artillery so to speak, before the lead guitar overtakes, very captivating.

‘Ancient Abyssal Conquest’ is probably the most “complete” track of the band, showing the entire range of Engulfed’s sound in perfection on short terms.. That first riff, sick!

And If you think it ends here, well, so wrong gentlemen, Occult Incantations is THE final piece of art where the band goes Beast mode. More intriguing, complex while still heavy and catchy at times, a monolithic, epic ending, with clean guitars who let you drift away in a parallel universe to round up a killer successor to their first LP. Recommended. (DPF)

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For those who live, eat, and breathe Metal music, to where it truly affects us to our core, we tend to look deeper into our music choices. We look for those evocative and emotional responses in sound and emotion, something resonating with our particular mindset. We want something more, that moment that moves us beyond just merely pressing play and going about our day. No, we crave something deeper, those nuances that pull at our souls and take us to those special moments.

Now, I’m not going to go into the whys and what fores, but for various reasons, Engulfed from Turkiye has grabbed and taken hold of me and has been part of my auditory listening pleasure in many ways. Beyond just my reasons for raving about Engulfed, you have to understand and realize what they bring to the table and have continued to do since their inception in 2010 but also, since their first EP release in 2012. So, Suppose you take prime moments of Immolation, Incantation, Morbid Angel, and even some of their modern contemporaries like Grave Miasma, Cruciamentum, and Ignivomous. In that case, you get the best from all these bands.

Engulfed is such a fitting moniker, they envelop your ears in these aspects but also evoke a sense of mood and emotion and bring it to you in their way. Yeah, we’ve all heard “been there, done that” and others have pummeled you with the words that nothing is new and it’s all been done before, and I agree. But when you get those rare few who make all that has been done before and present it in such a way, you cannot help but take a step back and just say ” Whoah”!

I can take the time to refer you to all their catalog and you would be pleased with all. Granted I may say the band was a bit more primitive and basic on the debut EP but over the years they have honed and refined their form of auditory darkness and have created true death metal in every sense of the word. I will say this, this will be on my top 10 releases for 2024. (Will “BoneS” Lee)