On August 14, 2020, INGESTED released "Where Only Gods May Tread" via Unique Leader Records. INGESTED is a UK brutal death metal band that formed in 2006. Their debut full-length album from 2009 "Surpassing The Boundaries Of Human Suffering" is a classic in the genre. Unique Leader has a brilliant roster of some of modern extreme metal's best bands, and INGESTED isn't an exception. INGESTED's music features plenty of chugging riffs, breakdowns, and slams. The drums are always going, but the rhythm switches up to match the pacing of the music. The vocals are varied, with both highs and lows, though almost always aggressive.

"Follow The Deceiver" starts the album off heavy with dense walls of chugs and frantic drumming. "No Half Measures" was one of the released singles. The latter half is a great example of how the band transitions from a slow to breakneck pace without losing any heaviness. An element that is used in a few songs is a brief moment where the music is stripped almost bare. For instance, in the middle of "The Burden Of Our Failures", only the guitar is left for a few measures. This works well for this style of metal because it offers a reprieve from the otherwise relentless aggression.

"Another Breath" is an exception to the aggressive vocals. It features Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR and DOWN. While most of this track is similar to the others on this album in terms of heaviness, there are slower sections that feature clean vocals of sorts. It's not singing in the strictest sense, more of an anguished cry. The tone matches the softer sections of the track well. Unfortunately, the overall effect is quite out of place and jarring in brutal death metal. I appreciate the effort to include something different though.

"Black Pill" features Matt Honeycutt of metalcore band KUBLAI KHAN. The addition of those metalcore yells matches the deathcore sound of the track. The last two tracks "Forsaken In Desolation" and "Leap of the Faithless" round out the album. "Leap of the Faithless" stands out as a comparatively lengthy 9 minute track. Aside from the expected chugs, brutal vocals, and blast beats, there is also extended use of a backing riff that's fairly melodic.

Overall, I recommend "Where Only Gods May Tread" to fans of slamming brutal death metal. It's not a groundbreaking album, but it's still full of high energy brutality. The slams make you want to move, and that's all you really need from this genre.