Not only do they have a badass logo, but their music slays on all fronts. The following interview was conducted with US Black/Death aggressor, THE INCURSION.
Godhammering hails! Tell us about the formation of The Incursion and what the band is all about musically and lyrically.
The Incursion formed circa 2018 in San Jose CA. Alex and Nick were previously in the group Plague Phalanx, and coordinated with Gabe of Slege/Thangorodrim.
What kind of mental images do you wish to depict with your music?
In general, we tend to aim for imagery that embodies the feeling of impending death or ultimate triumph in battle. Things like the barrage of a Katyusha rocket onslaught, or the raining of artillery come to mind.
Do you feel like The Incursion has its own sound? What sets you apart? Can Black and Death Metal be reinvented or not?
I think The Incursion does execute a short list of elements shared by few others which do set us apart somewhat, but in my experience which I am sure is similar to most, all music is usually and unfortunately described by using other bands as an analogy. So with that in mind I would say our sound and energy is similar to that of Black Witchery or Caveman Cult, however we do get into more dissonant textures you would find more in a Death Metal/Black Metal atmosphere in the vein of Blut Aus Nord. As far as Death Metal/Black Metal being reinvented, I supposed that is subjective to each one’s perception. My short answer would be no, it can’t be reinvented, but we can all do our best effort to add newer and more evil sounding elements to it. What’s the need for all the melodic shit?
Are there any bands that you feel The Incursion share a musical kinship with? If so, who are they?
There are a bunch of bands that we feel a connection to in the form of shared influence and mutual understanding of the music itself. Especially out here on the west of the US we appreciate the shit out of Blood Omen from Santa Cruz, Ritual Genocide from Reno, and Putrid Temple from Seattle. That’s just to name a tiny handful, but those bands are all sick as fuck.
Have you ever had any trouble with rats in the underground who misunderstood your art or who tried to censor you in some form or another?
We have not faced any type of censorship with The Incursion, but we definitely had our fair share of it with our old band Plague Phalanx. People had some misconceptions about the imagery we used, etc., but it definitely hasn’t given us pause or made us not want to make this kind of music anymore.
Shine some background on your discography and what you've released so far. Do you have any merchandise available for maniacs to get hold of?
We released a self titled demo about two years ago, then a single called Trudging Through Artillery which also later featured on another EP called Pandemonium, which included all of our early material that we’d been playing at shows etc. The latest release, available via Nihilistic Noise Propaganda, is called STURMSIEGE. We also have logo shirts, pins, and patches which people can hit us up for on our social media as of now.
How has the reception been for your releases so far? Are you getting much support?
People like our shit as far as the demos and EPs, but we haven’t truly started to promote heavily yet. When we begin work on our full length we’ll make some more noise.
Personally, I've enjoyed everything I've heard from The Incursion. The music hits you like a MGM-51 Shillelagh Missile and destroys everything in its path. How important is the extremity factor in regards to the type of music you play?
The extremity factor in the music is the peak of importance. We mainly try to execute that through speed and choice of notes is extremely important in the string section. Overall our goal is to push ourselves with each album to find different avenues to achieve the same type of feeling but not producing the exact same material over and over.
I understand that some people seem to be under the deluded impression that your drums are programmed. Can you please clarify?
I perform, record and mix the drums, so here’s the deal. I use a Roland TD6 Module and trigger for the kick drum, the rest are acoustic drums, and not very many of them. I use a very small kit. Kick, Snare, Floor Tom, Hi Hat, Crash and Ride. Emphasis is always on the Snare. As far as the mix, I use compression and EQ to enhance and boost the frequencies. At this point there is little to no editing at all, virtually nonexistent except for the kick drum on some parts just to keep things consistent and together in the mix. I push myself very hard to get solid genuine takes when recording. Generally we play between 190-200BPM and 250-260BPM. For the next material I will be utilizing more lo fi and minimal techniques to give us more raw sound then the somewhat polished Death Metal type sound we have produced.
How many times do you guys get together to rehearse? Do you practice a lot? Also, what are some of the most important aspects for you as far as being a musician? Do you ever look for inspiration outside the confines of metal?
We used to jam every week, but since the plague hit and our jam space got shut down we haven’t been able to. There’s been talk of us all moving in together so we can jam in a living room or something but hasn’t happened yet. So for now it’s all individual practicing to the new material and preparations for the next release.
What are 10 albums you can't live without?
No particular order:
Black Witchery - Inferno of Sacred Destruction
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Venom - Black Metal
Gorgoroth - Pentagram
Conqueror - War.Cult.Supremacy
Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
Diocletian - Doom Cult
Inquisition - Nepharious Dismal Orations
Cannibal Corpse - Vile
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
What's some of your favourite releases from 2020?
There’s a bunch of 2020 releases I really fuck with. Just to name a few the Totenwache album Kriegswesen, the Goathex/Goatcorpse (US) split Order of the Plutonium Trident, Hinterkaifeck’s (Australia) demo Kak, and Nirriti’s EP Asuryasparsha all made an impression.
What's your opinion about self-proclaimed metal maniacs who look like disco monkeys? Would you take such a person's opinion about metal seriously?
We don’t really care how people dress. What we don’t like is people who act as if they’ve been listening to this music since day one but don’t have the slightest appreciation or respect for the classic sound and its roots. Fuck that shit.
Other than metal, are there any other activities that interest you? What about history, the occult, sports, movies, art, serial killers, literature, etc.?
I’m really into ancient and dark ages history, especially pagan Europe around the years 400-800 AD. That was a savage time. Occult practices and ancient religions are a massive interest too. I’m also very into philosophy, which I have a bachelor’s degree in and study on my own time
This bring an end to our interview. Tell us about your plans for The Incursion and when we can expect to hear a full-length. Lastly, do you have a message for your enemies?
We are currently working on more material which will be out in 2021, not sure if it will be an EP, split, or full length album. As far as our enemies, The Incursion is coming for your fucking skulls!
