Since their formation in 2006, British slamming death metal outfitters Ingested are one of the most profiled and savage extreme metal bands to come out of the modern day scene. From their glory necrophiliac and rape lyricism themes from 2009’s Surpassing The Boundaries Of Human Sufferings to the more dominated, vengeance and murderous songwriting of 2015’s The Architect Of Extinction, Ingested are back three years later signed to Unique Leader Records and dropped their first album through the label entitled The Level Above Human. Musically, Ingested are known for incorporating deathcore structures with brutal death metal instrumentals which seemed be a impressive approach as other bands try to follow the footsteps alongside Disfiguring The Goddess and many more.
Right off the bat, they’ve stripped the deathcore arrangements a tad bit which makes the musicianship and overall musicality naturally matured and this is a outstanding decision for the members of Ingested simply because it makes them feel like they are really putting some real effort into writing, and making the songs feel consistent at best. Tempo variations from the guitars, bass and drums are extremely fluent and organically appropriate to bring relentless, aggressive and providing wonderful signatures to the forefront. Tracks such as Purveyors of Truth, The Crimson Oath, Misery Leech and the headbanging Invidious which demonstrates Catchy riffs, enjoyable vocals, insane drumming and the production values is absolutely top notch as the mixing doesn’t become overly repetitive but it combines some Pathology and even Infecting The Swarm-esque atmospheres as it brings a more presentable and understandable approach for brutal death metal.
There’s still some slam elements thrown into the mixtures which reminds me a lot of Cephalotripsy or Epicardiectomy reminiscent style of where the tempo of the song stays intact while the slams plays a punishing role throughout the beginning and end of this record. Vocally, Jason Evans possesses a range greater than most extreme metal vocalists you’ve heard within the extreme metal community as his deep, full-throated Dying Fetus-esque guttural, but at other times he takes use of a Job for a Cowboy roaring growl and a The Black Dahlia Murder shrieks, he is more abundant than his other ranges, but at other times (especially by the album’s cinematic experience) he begins to combine different gurgles and growls, giving it a fresh and unexpected sound which makes the album beautifully designed.
The Level Above Human is a massive improvement from Ingested’s discography as they’re still retaining the heaviness, and nasty progression fillers it delivers some of the finest material the band has put out to date that’ll please any brutal death metal fans!
Overall Score: 9.0/10
Review by Jake Butler
