Incursion is a heavy metal band from the USA, formed during the early eighties by bass player Maxx Havick and guitarist Michael Lashinsky. The band released one demo before going on hiatus for three decades – resurfacing in 2018, releasing the E.
P. ‘The Hunter’ two years later in 2020, and their first full-length album ‘Blinding Force’ (coincidentally) two years later in 2022…
…featuring founding members Havick (now on guitar) and Lashinsky – the band completed by (new) bass player Robbie Crede, drummer Dan Douchette, and singer Steve Samson. The new album harks back to metals golden era for evolution – the glorious eighties – and features nine heavy-hitting songs across a blistering forty-one minutes. The album is brought to life by the title song ‘Blinding Force’ – the longest song on offer, clocking in at six minutes and forty-five seconds! And includes a one-minute intro that has Black Sabbath written all over it, the doom-laden style of the metal legends very much in evidence. As ‘Blinding Force’ (the song) unfolds, it takes on the iconic “foot on the monitor” feel of traditional heavy metal yet retains the intense menace of (the aforementioned) ‘Sabbath.
Breaking out into a gallop, the album powers on with the fast and furious ‘Vengeance’ – blazing a fiery trail across the land, leaving only scorch marks in its wake. And the chant-style chorus of “vengeance, vengeance” is gonna be yelled loudly by every listener, fan and follower of the band. Maintaining the electrifying zip of the previous song, ‘Running Out’ runs amok with a strong old-school flavour and an infectious level that rises right off the fucking charts! And a chorus that is sing a long able to the max!
Featuring a much more old-school flavour than anything heard so far, ‘The Sentinel’ echoes the early eighties and the beginnings of the iconic NWOBHM era. The menacing march, the scary sound, the haunting rhythm…Angel Witch, anyone! Incursion were around for a little while during the early days of the NWOBHM evolution – albeit over four thousand miles anyway from the UK – so it’s of little surprise they have a massive British feel about them. Picking up the pace and galloping on at pace, ‘The Rites’ is a headbanger the mosh pits are gonna love. Heads will be just a blur as the world’s metal heads vigorously rock their heads back and forth to a killer tune.
Blistering speed lights up the album with the ferocious ‘Master Of Evil’, racing by with an urgency and intent that British stalwarts Raven brought to heavy metal. The British metallers introduced elements of (what would become) thrash to their early work, with Incursion including the same elements within ‘Master Of Evil’ – primarily aggression and attitude. Hitting the brakes and bringing an anthemic feel to the album, ‘Strike Down’ is a majestic and hard-hitting march of punch and power, the band swinging all around the heavy metal genre to deliver a varied yet focused metal album. The shortest song on offer at under three minutes in length is also one of the fastest!
‘Hang ‘Em High’ is a rip-roaring romp of all-out galloping metal with a frenzied feel and a loud, raucous edge. Incursion brings their debut album to a close with the majestic swagger of ‘Riot Act’, featuring the band’s old-school influence. And a pace and power that echoes the legends of British metal such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Overall, a glorious gallop of traditional heavy metal from a band very much intent on keeping the spirit of eighties metal well and truly alive.
TRACKLIST
Blinding Force
Vengeance
Running Out
The Sentinel
The Rites
Master Of Evil
Strike Down
Hang ‘Em High
Riot Act
Incursion: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: No Remorse Records
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
