Review
Incantation & Kassogtha
In between festivals like Wacken, Brutal Assault and Motocultor, Incantation stopped by the Sunset Bar in Martigny on their European summer tour. Opening for them was Swiss band Kassogtha, who has toured Europe with them earlier this year alongside Decapitated and Nervosa. An enjoyable evening for any death metal fan – whether they’re partial to the modern melodic sound of Kassogtha, or they prefer the old school death metal of Incantation.
Kassogtha opened the night with an energetic performance, mainly playing songs off their sophomore album Revolve, but they also included their newest single Rise, released this February, into their set. Front woman Stephany Hugnin switched between clean singing and low growls with ease, all while delivering an almost theatrical performance. The Geneva based band benefited from an (almost-)home crowd, if the number of Kassogtha shirts was any indication.
Incantation started playing a bit later than planned – they had to do their soundcheck in between sets due to a delay; but the wait was more than worth it. The band played songs from across their sizable discography, with a bit of special attention given to their latest album, Unholy Deification. Front man John McEntee made sure that everyone raised their horns in between songs (yes, including me – the camera wasn’t an excuse), and stepped into the crowd whenever someone wasn’t quite fast enough. Not much convincing was needed though, as the band gave a stellar performance presenting a cross section of songs of their now 35 years of existence.
