Based out of Toronto, enters ASTAROTH INCARNATE, a rising beast in the metal world. When a band is categorized under many different genres and their music is comprised of many musical elements from different metal genres compiled together, I get skeptical.  Some bands can pull it off, others can't. Why am I skeptical? Because songs can actually be nine different songs converged together and the results are catastrophic. I need melody in my life.  However, ASTAROTH INCARNATE surprises me with "Omnipotence: The Infinite Darkness," which is the first debut EP from these spawns. Fans of BELPHEGOR, DYING FETUS, BEHEMOTH are advised to take a listen. "Omnipotence: The Infinite Darkness" is brutality, groove and nefarious lines of metal that invoke your "dark passenger."

The album starts off with an ominous atmosphere, gurgling about darkness in all existence, setting the theme for the album, which I can appreciate but I felt like it should have been eliminated and the album should have began from 1:35, an amazing instrumental called "Obscurity," to start off this bad boy. Next track is "Curse Of The Black Plague" featuring three electrifying guitar solos, blast beats coupled with Dani Filth-like vocals and then there is the unexpected shift in vocals and sound, those brutal death vocals and piggy squeal breakdowns at 3:24. The wide, diverse range of vocals in this album brings it all together. This track is the epitome of what this band can do. Following are the demonic tracks, "Unfleshed," and "Re-Creation" which gives us a nice picture of the icy, raw Canadian Black Metal genre injected with some tech.

Then there is "Sanctum of Torment" which is personally my favorite track on this EP. It is more melodic, with high driven riffs that remind me of GOJIRA'S power and drumming with a pounding bass accentuating it all. The solos are ridiculously good. The pleasing arrangement in this track just makes me so happy. Look out, AMON AMARTH. Please make more songs like this one, ok?? I am also a critic of artwork on an album, and I must say that I am impressed with the artwork. I think it exemplifies nicely what the album is all about. Only thing negative about it is that horrid Old English Font, but I'll get over it and still continue to listen to the album. Overall, this EP is slightly above average in my book, which is a great compliment because I am not the biggest black metal advocate, but it gives us a glimpse on what is to come. Well done.