Incite: All Out War
This one has “family matters” written all over it, not the show but the phenomenon. Like, this legitimately was written by the step-son, practically real son, of Max Cavalera, and was produced by Logan Mader, so it has every notable groove metal band ever formed all over it. And Richie, head of Incite, is seriously Cavalera’s son, so like there’s a direct link here and everything. Kid even sang on stage during Ozzfest once and we’re pretty sure there’s a photograph of him inside the liner to Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide. We’re not ripping on family love here, but sometimes there needs to be more objectivity, and less nepotism. There would have to be a little behind this. All Out War isn’t something that will disappoint fans of this kind of music, but the fact that it got published past the underground and even has its own stinking Wikipedia page is proof that sometimes knowing certain people can help more than it should, because really you wouldn’t have heard much about it otherwise. Now, before we get hate mail and banned from every single Maximum Cavalera Tour, let’s make sure we explain ourselves here, fully. Incite has the groove thing down easily, the sound is there. Soulfly, all those bands, if they’re your thing, you’ll have no problem sticking it in and continuing essentially the same circle stomp pit activity you’ve been rocking since the 90s. The main issue with it is simple, is doesn’t have a single thing about it which really distinguishes these guys from any other band of their style. Switch out a name, roll a die to do it while you’re at it, take your song titles by stapling a bunch of old Sepultura album names together, and you’re ready for a tour. Some may not have a problem with that, but objectively speaking, without a hint of “family matters” about it, All Out War is pretty damn basic.
Now, let’s try to steer anger away from here by stating this one much better than their previous release, Slaughter, which was largely received to lukewarm reviews. By this sophomoric effort they’ve gone from lukewarm to somewhat more warm where you don’t mind taking a sip, unless it’s cold out. All Out War is basic to the point that “back to the primitive” can’t even make it sound like more than it is. The artwork looks like a tattoo you would have regretted after getting it for a cut-rate deal in 1995, the lyrics cover about every form of internal human struggle you could imagine with as much feeling as a fifteen-year-old, and the titles basically encapsulate everything detailed via the vocals in a word or two. So it doesn’t take much time to distinguish itself in any way. It’s there, it will floor pound and ground stomp a little, and then it will go away, especially when you come across something better. Thankfully, it’s all delivered via some top-notch production, so good choice on Mader there, because it’s obvious he knows what he’s doing, and it’s almost a requirement for groove metal. If you can’t make out the chords and they’re not properly hoisted via the drums, don’t even bother. All Out War also sees Incite with a new guitarist, and it sounds like he was an ideal pick as they further develop. We place stress on that part, because they’re certainly not there yet.
And that’s because Macazan is the one thing that saves this album from utter triviality. All Out War is filled with enough changelessness to confuse the hell out of a rock of ages. By the time it starts over again, it will sound like it never ended. The vocals are essentially carbon-copied throughout the entirety of it, with more of a hardcore edge to them, and the drums could have been cut-and-pasted all over the place and you wouldn’t have noticed. However, the one thing saving this album from complete and utter bargain bin hell are the guitars, most of them. Several passages from a few of the songs are notable, including the run about midway through “Exposed”, as well as earlier tracks like “4ever Loko”, both of which hit a nice groove. But considering the guitars, they save All Out War, but they do little more otherwise. It’s saved as in “pulled out from completely drowning”, but it’s still gasping for air thereafter. The “I hate X” direction of the lyrics, the lack of subtlety, the majority of what Incite is still doing by this release isn’t enough for the amount of press that seems to have been behind it, and that brings us back to the “family matters” phenomenon mentioned earlier. Without a little money coming from somewhere, there’s just no way this one would have gotten very far, at all. It survives a single listen, or as background tracks while you’re playing a FPS and not paying attention to it, but not much otherwise, and several sections are quite tiring.
Written by Stanley Stepanic
Incite: All Out War
Minus Head Records
3 / 5
