North East England rockers Incantus aim to get your head banging with a smile on your face and a groove in your soul with a doom-laced metal sound that they describe as “frantic hooky riffage.”
The quartet, who hail from Newcastle and Northumberland, began with lifelong friends Alex (drums) and Scott (guitar) getting together for a jam. Bassist Terry soon joined and they began putting together “some good tunes.” They then added vocalist Célia Lawson, who was Portugal’s 1997 Eurovision entry and performed well on the Portuguese version of The Voice. But Célia moved back to Portugal and was replaced by Nate to complete the lineup.
On the sound they’ve honed, the band told us: “That depends on what song you listen to. Although our main theme is punk-infused metal with catchy hooks, a groove and attitude; if you listen to our back catalogue, there is a bit of psychedelic rock, synth-heavy dark wave and guitar noodling. We try to keep things fun and experiment with genres.”
The band sent us Medusa Touch, the second track from their second EP Seditionary Doctrine, which was released in December. It opens up with a little drum roll and stabbing riffs that continue under engaging vocals. Backing vocals come in to build the intensity as it develops into a catchy chorus, and a brief verse feeds back into the chorus. Chugging guitars kick in under more intense vocals, which feed into another chorus, before a cool little instrumental section tees up a lively outro.
The EP opens up with a great little track in the upbeat, punky Nexus, which begins with cool dual riffs setting up a lively first verse. Then Sorcery begins with light guitars that suddenly explode into chugging chords supporting Nate’s engaging vocals, before the entertaining instrumental track Scotty’s Little Ego Trip. And, as the band explains, the record offers a little bit of something for all music lovers.
“The reception has been great so far,” they told us. “People who are into metal and the heavier side of things are really digging Medusa Touch’s groove. Non-metalheads seem to really like the instrumental Scotty’s Little Ego Trip and the unplugged versions of Atlas and Who Cares.
The first 3 tracks are completely new, Nexus is Punky and catchy as hell. Medusa Touch is a hook laden riff fest with an epic finish. Sorcery started off as us taking the mick out of one our regular gig-goers who loves his indie music. We decided to lull him into a false sense of security before the guitars smash him in the face.”
The Incantus sound has been influenced by the band members growing up on bands like The Wildhearts, Therapy, Pantera, Machine Head, Fear Factory and Carcass. And, as they add, “Steve Vai has been a huge influence on Scott, he likes to think he can play like him (he can’t).”
And on what inspires them to write music, they tell us: “We write because it’s a laugh and we love playing together. If it isn’t fun and you don’t enjoy it, why bother? We come together, throw out riffs and see what develops, where the song takes us. We often start a song with an idea in mind but, by the time it’s finished, it’s a different beast. One of the key themes to come through in our lyrics is an anti-establishment voice. Nate comes up with the lyrics and has a bit of an anarchist, conspiracy theorist streak.”
Incantus are currently in the process of writing new music, and plan to go into the studio to record drums for two new tracks in the new year. They’ll be playing at Trillians in Newcastle in April, with the aim of setting up more gigs following their studio sessions.
And they added: “Support local small venues and the local metal scene where you live. It’s hard for original bands, and great venues like The Three Tuns in Gateshead, Trillians, Downcast, Little Buildings, and The Cluny in Newcastle need support. Without these venues, the scene dies, and we have nowhere to play.”
You can follow Incantus on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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