Canada has made quite the splash in the metal community, with the likes of Kataklysm, Anvil, Razor, and the likes. That being said, no massive bands have come out of Canada in the past while, and it gets a bit overlooked as of late. Cell are looking to change that, while Canada has hit the Death and Thrash needs, Cell are here for those looking for something a bit darker. Their second album, Ancient Incantation of Xarbos comes out this Friday, and the band is ready to show off what they've learnt since their debut.
Kicking off, Cell display themselves as something much more simplistic. A bit of a lul to lure in the more casual metal listener. "Definiling The Ancient Hierarchy" kicks off the album with a much more melodic tone. While the album in full may do a good job at not going off the deep end in terms of extremity, the first song might be a bit tame for the more experienced listener of black metal and blackened influenced metal. "All I See Is Them" starts to take a step in a heavier, faster direction. While "The Wailing Emptiness" kicks off the side of the album that gets into proper heaviness.
"The Wailing Emptiness", from beginning to end is absolutely massive. Luckily for fans, this was the first track available to them off the new album. Extreme, from the beginning to roughly the midway point and from there, heavy. The exact kind of heavy a headbanger is looking for, slower, mid tempo, and destructive. The second half of the album kicks off with "Gods of the NetherRealm". Safe to say, it follows the same standard as "The Wailing Emptiness". Instead of diving into heaviness though, it shows off Cell's musicianship instead. At the midway point, the song breaks into a cleaner sound, more along the lines of the way Enslaved do clean intros. Before you know it, the guitar solo kicks off and the experience of guitarist Tyler Augusto becomes readily apparent.
Beginning to long end, Ancient Incantation of Xarbos is a heavy, blackened metal monster. On top of that, an absolute contender for album of the year. The musicianship and maturity available on this album compared to Cell's debut is night and day. Metal fans should be so lucky to have an album like this available and if you're looking to hear more from the album, well it's ready to hear below through their Bandcamp before the full release on Friday!
Catch Cell on their current North American tour supporting Ancient Incantation of Xarbos:
10/05/19 – Charlotte, NC @ Skylark Social Club
10/07/19 – Raleigh, NC @ Slim’s Downtown
10/08/19 – Baltimore, MD @ The Sidebar
10/09/19 – Everett, MD @ Banshee Den
10/10/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bazaar
10/11/19 – Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar
10/12/19 – Quebec City, QC @ La Source
10/13/19 – Ottawa, ON @ Pour Boy
10/14/19 – Sudbury, ON @ The Asylum
10/19/19 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Goodwill Social Club
