Primordial Domination (2006) - Incantation

By the time Incantation released Primordial Domination, the band had long solidified their legacy in the death metal underground. They were the keepers of the fire — still dragging their sound through the mud and smoke when many of their peers had moved on or cleaned up. And yet, Primordial Domination doesn’t just rehash their early rot. It’s a refinement of their unholy craft. Stripped of excess and delivered with punishing clarity, this album is one of Incantation’s most underrated works — not because it lacks intensity, but because it hides its power in plain sight.

Tracklist:

1. Primordial Domination

2. The Fallen Priest

3. Dissolute Rule / Begin Apocalypse

4. Hailed Babylon

5. Lead to Desolation

6. Doctrines of Reproach

7. The Stench of Crucifixion

8. Extirpated Dominus

9. Conquered God

Album Overview:

The opening title track Primordial Domination wastes no time establishing tone. A slow, hammering riff leads into Incantation’s signature brand of smoggy violence. McEntee’s vocals here are less gurgle and more roar — a commanding, grounded presence that guides the chaos rather than being swallowed by it. The production on this album deserves special mention: it retains that rotten, unwashed atmosphere Incantation is known for, but each instrument punches through clearly, giving the chaos more weight.

The Fallen Priest bursts forward with relentless blast beats, channeling that old-school incantatory violence with unrelenting force. The riffs here writhe like serpents through smoke, while the track shifts fluidly into doom passages that feel more suffocating than restful — a slow erosion of the spirit.

Dissolute Rule / Begin Apocalypse feels like the real hell-gate opening. It's a two-part track that showcases Incantation’s ability to move from frenzied destruction into apocalyptic groove. There's a sense of being overrun — not by tempo, but by inevitability.

Hailed Babylon follows with militant confidence, delivering tremolo-picked salvos and mid-paced churns that feel like the forward march of a desecrated army. The song's structure is lean, but still layered with those subtle dissonances that make Incantation so spiritually grotesque.

Lead to Desolation opens with a lumbering, doomed crawl. This track stands out because it allows you to sink. It isn't about shock value or speed — it’s about getting buried. The riffwork is hypnotic, and when the faster passages do arrive, they feel earned, like a burst of flame after long smoldering.

Doctrines of Reproach brings back the pummel, mixing speed and suffocation in equal measure. It’s one of the most straightforward tracks here, but also one of the most feral. The song leans into Incantation’s mid-era sweet spot: tightly wound and atmospherically hostile.

The Stench of Crucifixion is absolutely massive. One of the doomier cuts on the album, it stretches to over six minutes of decay and anguish. This song sounds like a monastic chant scorched by fire — ritualistic and funereal, yet still laden with riffs thick enough to collapse under.

Extirpated Dominus is shorter, meaner, and packs a crueler punch. Its blasts feel volcanic, but it’s the dive into slower, warped rhythms that elevates it. This is the sound of something ancient tearing itself free.

Closing track Conquered God is one last act of heretical ruin. The guitars ring out like warhorns over a battlefield that’s already soaked in ash. There's something triumphant in its despair — the feeling of scorched-earth victory through annihilation.

Primordial Domination may not hold the same revered status as Onward to Golgotha or Diabolical Conquest, but it’s easily among the most refined and focused works in their discography. It doesn't reach for innovation; instead, it perfects the arcane formula Incantation has always worshipped — doom-infused death metal that feels like communion in a decaying crypt.

What I love most about this album is how balanced it feels. It alternates between speed and suffocation with complete conviction. Each track is its own pit, and yet the record moves like a single, sinuous organism. There's a malevolent flow here, a deeply entrenched atmosphere that never lets up.

If you're drawn to the spiritual rot of bands like Dead Congregation or the doomed edges of Immolation, this album will feel like home — a dark, crumbling, blasphemous home. For those of us who crave structure without sterility, doom without dead air, and filth without disarray, Primordial Domination is a hidden gem in Incantation’s temple of decay.