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Any band that has been around long enough will eventually become judged by the merits of its imitators. After all the easiest way for a young band to find its footing is by following in the footsteps, sometimes directly, of its inspirations and influences. Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, and Krisiun at various points all have been the subject of imitation on a smaller or larger scale. Pennsylvania death metal combo Incantation weren’t part of that select group until sometime around 2008 when bands as Dead Congregation and Father Befouled sprung up and popularized the sound with those for whom the original was too difficult to comprehend. In the decade-plus since the first copycats wormed their way out of whatever unconsecrated ground they called home the original is still unsurpassed and in their old age have been experiencing something of a conceptual rejuvenation that knows no equal.

Since 2013 Lombardy, Italy-based Ekpyrosis has been conjuring something of a little infernal storm of themselves. Our introduction to them was with their commendable “Witness His Death” EP from 2015. While no paragon of originality it captured enough of that murky atmosphere that has been Incantation’s calling card since the very beginning. Two years later their proper debut “Asphyxiating Devotion” followed and while nothing fundamentally changed about Ekpyrosis’ sound in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t quite as narrow in how it choose to imitate Incantation. “Primordial Chaos Restored” continues that evolution and it sounds as if, slowly but surely, Ekpyrosis is etching out its own identity while staying loyal to the old masters. The only real significant change that Ekpyrosis underwent is the ousting of bass guitarist Marco Cazzaniga and the recruiting of Gianluca Carrara in his stead. The transition with Carrara is seamless and he debuts commendably on “Primordial Chaos Restored”. One of Ekpyrosis’ greatest strengths is the vocal interplay between Marco Teodoro and Nicolò Brambilla that is a dead ringer for both Daniel Corchado and John McEntee, but our favorite member is drummer Ilaria Casiraghi. Casiraghi (or Curly, as we frequently call her) is of the Kyle Severn, Rick Miah, and King Fowley school of drumming and probably understands better than anyone else that less is always more.

There’s something to be said about how well Ekpyrosis masters their chosen style when a track like ‘Abyssal Convergence’ sounds as if it was culled from “Profane Nexus” or a similar recent Incantation offering. ‘Instigation Of Entropy’ opens with a riff scheme reminiscent of ‘Desecration (Of the Heavenly Graceful)’. ‘Conception From Nothingness’ echoes ‘Sempiternal Pandemonium’ and ‘Crown Of Decayed Salvation’ at various points. ‘Chaos Condensing’ is an atmospheric acoustic instrumental and the first of its kind that Ekpyrosis has written, to our recollection at least. It seems only fitting that Ekpyrosis would conclude its latest EP with a faithful rendition of Incantation staple ‘Devoured Death’ (at least they were so smart not to cover ‘Profanation’, ‘Unholy Massacre’ or ‘Deliverance Of Horrific Prophecies’, which would be the obvious, and thus predictable, choices). It would be interesting to hear Ilaria tackle Dave Culross’ more technicaly challenging material from “The Infernal Storm”. At its best it’s almost impossible to tell Ekpyrosis apart from Incantation. At various points this really sounds like a long-lost Incantation recording, probably from somewhere between the Daniel Corchado, Mike Saez - and John McEntee fronted eras.

The Stockholm influence that permeated “Witness His Death” and parts of “Asphyxiating Devotion” has completely disappeared and Ekpyrosis is now fully embracing its ancient New York death metal sound. To fans of Incantation, Morpheus Descends, Autopsy, Winter, and the like this EP will sound instantly familiar and there are more than a few things to cling to. ‘Chaos Condensing’ is, by far, the most adventurous track present, primarily because it captures that old Italian horror atmosphere so wonderfully. Not that we’re expecting Ekpyrosis to suddenly turn all Goblin and go all psychotronic and psychedelic. This is about the last band where you’d expect funky bass licks like Fabio Pignatelli or mind-bending keyboards like Claudio Simonetti but the macabre horror atmosphere is certainly worth exploring further. Also not unimportant in this particular equation is the production from Carlo Altobelli. Rather befitting it leans more towards something murky as “Onward to Golgotha” than the bare-bones Sunlight Studio approximation of his earlier productions for this band.

What really sells “Primordial Chaos Restored” is the absolutely stellar cover drawing from Raoul Mazzero for View from the Coffin. It effectively captures the funereal, murky essence of the cavernous death metal that Incantation pioneered. In the second half of the nineties (when it was anything but trendy to imitate Incantation) Canadian one-man act Darkness Eternal pretty much reigned supreme in the field. These days the field is considerably more populated with all the good and bad that entails. Ekpyrosis clearly love the various incarnations of Incantation and “Primordial Chaos Restored” doesn’t focus on any era specifically. Ekpyrosis is, at least as far as we’re concerned, the leader in a growing movement of underground metal acts that steer away from the mechanical, sterile, and frankly, lifeless hyperspeed death metal that Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Hideous Divinity have specialized in. They are, along with Ferum, Amthrya, and Resumed, the future of the Italian underground. The catacombs are churning and Ekpyrosis has been spat from the darkness. At some point this sort of death metal will become the norm again. To paraphrase Hellhammer: “Life is just an illusion, only Ilaria is real.

The darkest, most churning US death metal is no longer produced in the US, but in la bella Italia. If nothing else in the last couple of years Milan/Lombardy-based Ekpyrosis has vowed to carry on the sound that Incantation and Immolation have since abandoned. Not surprising considering it is the heart of Roman Catholicism and the religious disease should be fought tooth and nail. “Asphyxiating Devotion” is the quartet’s debut for underground specialist label Memento Mori and the follow-up to the well-received “Witness His Death” EP from 2015. More inspired by various eras of Incantation than by Dutch death/doom metal stalwarts Asphyx, “Asphyxiating Devotion” is thoroughly and utterly devoted to its genre, but none of it feels insincere or fabricated. “Asphyxiating Devotion” sees Ekpyrosis coming into its own and marks the beginning of the band’s Diabolical Conquest.

For the most part “Asphyxiating Devotion” is made up of entirely new material. It is custodian to another re-recording of ‘Morticians Of God’, a cut dating back to the “Black Aspid Of Doom” rehearsal tape from 2015. Only ‘Morticians of God’ and ‘Depths Of Tribulation’ differ slightly from the rest of the album in that both lean more towards a Stockholm death metal sound. ‘Unearthly Blindness’ breaks stylistically with the rest of the album as it is closer to “Luck Of the Corpse” era Deceased than any era of New York genre pillar Incantation. All things considered it are minor tonal hiccups as the remainder of the record is consistent within the context of its chosen influences. The inspirations and influences behind Ekpyrosis as a band are fairly self-evident and they at no point are they reinventing the wheel or breathing life into a stale, artistically vacuous, self-referential genre. Bereft of any pretense and prefixes Ekpyrosis has always been a band to pride itself in being able to do more with less. This is a death metal record, pure and simple.

Ekpyrosis embodies pure death metal and in sheer decrepit atmosphere and all-encompassing gloominess they are only matched by late 90s (and now long defunct) Canadian studio act Darkness Eternal and Morpheus Descends. Compared to the preceding EP “Asphyxiating Devotion” leans more towards different eras of New York/Pennsylvania death metal monument Incantation than to the early Swedish scene. “Asphyxiating Devotion” combines the dense structures of “Onward to Golgotha” with the more straightforward riffing of post-“Blasphemy” Incantation. The vocals of guitar tandem Marco Teodoro and Nicolò Brambilla more often than not resemble Mike Saez and John McEntee in the more shriekier passages. Marco Cazzaniga (bass guitar)  is a nonentity even though he provides serviceable enough low end tones. Cazzaniga (who has since defected) dutifully doubles the guitars but isn’t given much space to do anything interesting. Hopefully Ekpyrosis will see it fit to allow their bassist a greater presence in future output to truly show the world what he is capable of. On the “Witness His Death” EP the drumming of Ilaria Casiraghi tended to sound similar to Joakim Sterner (Necrophobic) and Anders Schultz (Unleashed) but on its Memento Mori recording debut she resembles long-serving Incantation skinsman Kyle Severn and occassionally Deceased drummer King Fowley, both stylistically and in overall delivery, more often.

Everybody the least bit perceptive knows that death metal has been stagnant at least since 2000. Never was there a genre more navel-gazing and self-obsessed; so hopelessly fascinated by its own not-too-distant past and, more often than not, completely bereft of firm leadership and much-needed visionaries to push it to a higher creative plateau. In a time where every other band looks more cartoonish, mistaking self-referentiality for substance and worshipping at the altar of yesterday’s heroes (some of which are still around, if not exactly alive and/or kicking) than the next – Ekpyrosis is the cure for the common complaint. Instead of worshipping at another’s temple, these iconoclastic irreverent Italians are building their own. These are the Disciples (Of the Heavenly Graceful) and from the catacombs they will command the Uprising Heresy. Ekpyrosis love vintage Incantation and their cavernous death metal attests to that very fact. It might not exactly be original, but it is very damn well expertly written and recorded. This might very well be a long lost Incantation record released under a different name…

“Asphyxiating Devotion” sounds like a 1990s USDM record and making it all the more impressive is that Ekpyrosis is a just a bunch of guys and a girl hailing from Italy, once home to a blooming exploitation cinema industry and some of the most beautiful starlets in all of continental Europe. These days Italy is rather infamous for its mechanical and, frankly, sterile breed of faster-than-thou death metal. Just like the Germans of Necrophagist, Hour Of Penance has a lot to answer for. Ekpyrosis is the antithesis of the stereotypical Italian sound and their breaking with tradition is what makes their music so engrossing. The handdrawn artwork by César Valladares bathes in monochrome and its precisely the sort of thing you’d expect a band like Ekpyrosis to use in terms of visuals. Would “Asphyxiating Devotion” have benefitted from a canvas by Miran Kim and Wes Benscoter? Probably. Is it necessary for the experience? Not in the slightest, but it would have helped further cement the bonds to early, prime era Incantation and Deceased. As it currently stands Ekpyrosis is one of the best death metal exports from Italy one is likely to find.