Incertus - Predestination to Damnation

INCERTUS - Predestination to Damnation (DEFENSE / MYTHRONE - CD 2021)

When getting ready to listen to Incertus, I had no idea that this is a Polish band. Not that it matters at all to me or makes any difference. It was just weird that I never heard anything about them before. Here is their album titled "Predestination to Damnation", with thirty minutes of quite intriguing, but also difficult to get into blend of black, doom and death metal. I gave few listens to this CD and I still am not quite sure what to think of it. On one hand Incertus style is definitely far from common, but some of the ideas they had, especially with the use of keyboards, are so annoying that they ruin the whole effect for me, personally. 

What I like about "Predestination to Damnation" is that this album takes a lot of influence from the old Greek scene for instance, and a bit of very, very early Polish black metal as well (with the exception that Incertus has far better sound). Music is strongly trying to get that dark, sinister vibe, definitely the atmosphere and epic feeling is what matters here the most, but Incertus does not avoid also some faster, more savage parts. In songs like "Rise for Torment" it worked very well. There's a nice riffage, monumental, obscure aura, harsh sound... but also a bit of more progressive parts (listen to guitar solos at 3:00). Basically, every song has something I liked, but to be fair, there was also a bit of stuff I didn't like. Sometimes it just feels like Incertus tried too much to diversify their music, to be honest, instead of staying focused on the one, proper direction. Like those weird keyboard sounds in the title song. And all in all, this material is not convincing me entirely. Let's say that "Predestination to Damnation" is mediocre, at best, and is for the die hard collectors of underground metal only. 

Verdict: 65/100