Review by Death8699 on October 30, 2018.

Despite the negative feedback that Deicide was given for the quality of this release, I still think that it's underestimated. Sure the riffs are less complex and there's a limited amount of leads, but I think everything flowed throughout this whole album. We can do without the lyrics, but that's what makes Deicide Deicide. When I originally heard this album, I too had a negative opinion about it. Now with repeated listens to, I beg to differ.

Compared to past releases, the album is way less technical. That doesn't make it unworthy of praise. The riffs go well along with the vocals and backup vocals as well even though I think that it's only Glen doing the backup screams. His voice is burley as usual but this time, you can somewhat understand what he's saying without looking at the lyric sheet. 

The Hoffman brothers put forth quality music when writing this and I don't think that they got lazy, I just think that they wanted to put forth something less technical riff-wise. For Insineratehymn, it's back to the basics with the guitar playing. Still good leads, just a lot less of them. Tons of tremolo picked riffs mixed with basic picking. Glen's bass guitar could've been a little bit louder, but I think that it was good enough. I really liked the creativity on Deicide's part. They have had previous albums way more technical than this one, but overall, Insineratehymn hits home with me. Nothing wrong with the music, it flows. Sure they took a long while from their previous release to make another 30 minute album, but still I think that it's good. For guitarists like myself, we tend to be pretty critical when it comes to sub-par album releases. Just because this release isn't as technical as previous ones, there's no need to put this one down as a flop. Deicide tried to make it more basic when they wrote this album, nothing more. The leads could've been more incorporated in the mix, but what they put forth was enough I think.

Songs such as "Bible Basher" and "Standing In The Flames" are quite memorable. The production was decent. Jim Morris did a good job with the mixing of this album. For the most part, all of the instruments were mixed evenly even though like I said the bass could've been a bit louder. Everything else was finely heard, the guitar, drums and vocals.

Give it a try to accept this album that did so poorly with the feedback from fans. I think it's another good one to add to their discography. It's not too technical, but still catchy as all hell so try listening to it a few more times before you judge it. One hell of a sick album!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Maciek on May 13, 2018.

Labyrinth Entrance is another interesting position from Godz ov War label and as I found out another one-man project (together with Absque Cor). When it comes to style it again is not easy to describe. Someone put a description that it's a blackened death metal or deathened black metal, but I don't think that's enough. I would add a bit of doom metal with some other flavours added to it. Hunger, who recorded all of the instruments and vocals, definitely likes to mix different styles and sounds together. The guitars have quite heavy sound, are low-tuned, and just like Absque Cor, maybe because it's the same person recording each part, you can hear all sections pretty clear, including bass and some ambient sounds and keyboards. The closest resemblance to me from recent albums is probably In Mourning with their "Afterglow", but Labyrinth Entrance is definitely more heavy, more low-tuned. And the material is more varied. You just have to listen to it.

The album is slightly over 40 minutes long with 6 songs entitled "Canto" followed by numbers from 0 to Roman V. This lack of particular titles telling what's in the lyrics gives an impression that it's a concept album and to me it slightly sounds like one. The whole composition of all tracks on the album starts with Canto 0 being an intro, through other tracks slightly building up the atmosphere. The tempo is gradually increasing and all instruments start to introduce more lively melody lines and rhythms with Canto I being mostly the same tempo throughout the whole song, while Canto II introducing more dark, heavier atmosphere somewhere in the middle of the track, preparing the listener for Canto III, which is probably the most characteristic track on the album, showing off most of Hunger's abilities in both composing and playing the instruments. Canto III is also more in the area of progressive death metal, that's where I get my references to Swedish In Mourning from. It really is rich in perfectly balanced keyboards, enhancing the overall mood of the material, but still being somewhere in the background and not pushing other instruments behind. Hunger also likes to experiment with different effects on his vocals, so you can find many interesting growls, shrieks, melodic vocals and some distorted speaking voice in the background throughout the whole album. The track also ends with fantastic, catchy riff, which keeps on having more and more melody lines added by guitars and keyboards, it is a proper epic track, consisting of what I exactly like in metal. The beginning of Canto IV reminded me of Forlorn Chambers a little, which again definitely puts this material in the area of Scandinavian metal, both death and black. It makes me realise that even though all tracks are connected by their titles to make each of them a part of the whole story, actually every track sounds like a whole story, with the beginning being slightly slower and creating an atmosphere for the rest of the song, and then the fast drums come in, unleashing furious riffs, then reaching the moment where the dark, heavy, doomy melodies appear to end with the riff that started the song. Canto V, closing the album, is the track that shows quite amazing drumming skills with both bass drums kicking in. The riffs are heavy, it's probably the darkest track of all here, some of disharmonies enhancing the cacophony and lyrics being mostly screamed and drums giving the track very war-like theme. At some point I think I heard some echoes from early Emperor, in the area of "In the Nightside Eclipse". And to me probably the best track to play live, obviously if Hunger thinks of it. Some melody lines at the end of the track even remind me of Enslaved.

To sum it up - this is a solid piece of material, definitely more varied and more atmospheric than Stillborn for example. Hunger's project is definitely more complex, expanding the musical spectrum and roaming almost every potential path where metallers would go. Obviously I recommend listening to the whole album in one go to feel all moods, with themes that are mostly dark, heavy and military. I only hope for some follow-up in near future as now I definitely have more appetite for such releases.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Maciek on May 13, 2018.

Labyrinth Entrance is another interesting position from Godz ov War label and as I found out another one-man project (together with Absque Cor). When it comes to style it again is not easy to describe. Someone put a description that it's a blackened death metal or deathened black metal, but I don't think that's enough. I would add a bit of doom metal with some other flavours added to it. Hunger, who recorded all of the instruments and vocals, definitely likes to mix different styles and sounds together. The guitars have quite heavy sound, are low-tuned, and just like Absque Cor, maybe because it's the same person recording each part, you can hear all sections pretty clear, including bass and some ambient sounds and keyboards. The closest resemblance to me from recent albums is probably In Mourning with their "Afterglow", but Labyrinth Entrance is definitely more heavy, more low-tuned. And the material is more varied. You just have to listen to it.

The album is slightly over 40 minutes long with 6 songs entitled "Canto" followed by numbers from 0 to Roman V. This lack of particular titles telling what's in the lyrics gives an impression that it's a concept album and to me it slightly sounds like one. The whole composition of all tracks on the album starts with Canto 0 being an intro, through other tracks slightly building up the atmosphere. The tempo is gradually increasing and all instruments start to introduce more lively melody lines and rhythms with Canto I being mostly the same tempo throughout the whole song, while Canto II introducing more dark, heavier atmosphere somewhere in the middle of the track, preparing the listener for Canto III, which is probably the most characteristic track on the album, showing off most of Hunger's abilities in both composing and playing the instruments. Canto III is also more in the area of progressive death metal, that's where I get my references to Swedish In Mourning from. It really is rich in perfectly balanced keyboards, enhancing the overall mood of the material, but still being somewhere in the background and not pushing other instruments behind. Hunger also likes to experiment with different effects on his vocals, so you can find many interesting growls, shrieks, melodic vocals and some distorted speaking voice in the background throughout the whole album. The track also ends with fantastic, catchy riff, which keeps on having more and more melody lines added by guitars and keyboards, it is a proper epic track, consisting of what I exactly like in metal. The beginning of Canto IV reminded me of Forlorn Chambers a little, which again definitely puts this material in the area of Scandinavian metal, both death and black. It makes me realise that even though all tracks are connected by their titles to make each of them a part of the whole story, actually every track sounds like a whole story, with the beginning being slightly slower and creating an atmosphere for the rest of the song, and then the fast drums come in, unleashing furious riffs, then reaching the moment where the dark, heavy, doomy melodies appear to end with the riff that started the song. Canto V, closing the album, is the track that shows quite amazing drumming skills with both bass drums kicking in. The riffs are heavy, it's probably the darkest track of all here, some of disharmonies enhancing the cacophony and lyrics being mostly screamed and drums giving the track very war-like theme. At some point I think I heard some echoes from early Emperor, in the area of "In the Nightside Eclipse". And to me probably the best track to play live, obviously if Hunger thinks of it. Some melody lines at the end of the track even remind me of Enslaved.

To sum it up - this is a solid piece of material, definitely more varied and more atmospheric than Stillborn for example. Hunger's project is definitely more complex, expanding the musical spectrum and roaming almost every potential path where metallers would go. Obviously I recommend listening to the whole album in one go to feel all moods, with themes that are mostly dark, heavy and military. I only hope for some follow-up in near future as now I definitely have more appetite for such releases.

Rating: 8 out of 10