Review by JD on November 8, 2012.

Sludge Metal is getting a bit more popular these days, just look at the units sold numbers chalked up by Mastodon with the last album - impressive is the word for that. This is a style that I am getting more and more into, as I review every new album that is handed to me. One of the relative newcomer on to this scene is Italian Sludge/Hardcore/Progsters Incoming Cerebral Overdrive.

ICO is a band that seems to be a triad of distinct styles in one. One side of it is low slung Sludge Metal played with a heavy hand and retrospective lyrics, the next is a Progressive angle that shows off a band that is formulated on talent and the anger and passion of an offshoot of Hardcore to channel all of the aggression they have. It is blended into a well oiled machine of originality, fuelled by the passion that comes with the need for playing heavy music.

Ten songs are offered up by the band, a sort of retrospective into a persons varied thoughts, of sheer craziness and fleeting lucidness, set to a thunderous wall of drums and crushing guitars. Each track seems to follow its own path, piecing out the story of both sanity and insanity with smatterings of grey areas through it - showing a complexity that is both appealing and appalling all done with powerful riffs that simply blows your head off of your body.

Incoming Cerebral Overdrive is a perfect example of what a thinking person’s metal is, yet it shows almost a feral sort of need for headbanging as well. Smarts and nastiness in one package... gotta go with the word awesome. Looking forward to hearing the next album from these titanic Italians... and I hope they don’t keep me waiting for very long.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Review by Krys on July 19, 2002.

Council of the Fallen is a black/death metal project involving well known members of the U.S. death metal scene. The lineup consists of bassist Sean Baxter (Broken Hope, Em Simfonia), drummer Derek Roddy (Malevolent Creation, Hate Eternal, Divine Empire, Nile), and guitarist Kevin Quirion (Aurora Borealis). Given the members impressive resumes, it’s reasonable to assume high quality death metal but don’t be fooled, “Revealing Damnation” is as much a black metal album as it is a death metal album and more importantly it’s top notch quality.

After the initial surprise of this not being a pure death onslaught, I realized that I’ve just heard one of the best mixtures of death and black metal in years. Given the state of the US black metal scene, it’s even more satisfying hearing not only something that tops everything in the States, but also stands a head and shoulders above most of the albums coming from the rest of the world. The balance between those two styles is so impeccable that I’m not sure if “Revealing Damnation” is a death metal with a black touch or the other way around.

Twelve tracks of devastating aggression were composed with such precision and intelligence that not a single note feels like being wasted or unnecessary. All songs are based on memorable riffs, careful arrangements, tempo changes and limitless skills of respective musicians; this material can’t leave you bored. Tracks like ‘Search for Purpose’ or ‘Shadowed Horizon’ can make pure black metal acts look like pansies and countless moments of outstanding gut-spilling death metal riffs overshadows most of each member’s alma mater band’s material.

While most of the time Council of the Fallen goes through “Revealing Damnation” with a blazing speed, the musicians’ experience doesn’t let the songs slip out of control. Every time you get to the point that a section might feel monotonous they’ll change the tempo, style, riff, vocal; and they’ll do at the exact, perfect moment. ‘Lying in Wait’ or ‘Remnants of Existence’ are perfect examples of COTF going from blast beats to mid tempos laying monstrous riffs, crushing your skull. This album doesn’t have weak tracks, only good ones and outstanding ones; that makes Council of the Fallen “Revealing Damnation” an album that will never see the dust gathering section of my collection.

Bottom Line: “Revealing Damnation” is not only a debut of the year contestant, but a future standard on how death and black hybrid metal is going to be played. I only hope that their heavy involvement with other projects won’t stop them from evolving as a band and delivering even more mind-blowing albums.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 7
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10