After the widely celebrated release of 2022’s Ashes Lie Still, Mancunians Ingested return to the forefront to reaffirm their status as top dog in the UK and beyond. Staying true to who they are and what they love has paid off, as The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams is a fantastic album, sure to delight fans and new listeners alike. Pummelling, unrelenting drums, precise, brutal riffs and filthy, acrobatic vocals make this another diamond in the band’s back catalogue.
Behind the hot-blooded display of savagery though, lies a cold, calculating intelligence that reveals itself throughout The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams. Compare it to Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering for example, and you’ll still find similar elements – breakdowns, slam riffs, guitar solos shredded finer than confidential CIA documents – but there is something special about Ingested’s latest offering.
There’s a kind of clarity to The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams that only years of writing experience can surface. Each song resonates with absolute brutality and the album flows from strength to strength, the band exploring new elements alongside old sounds. After well over a decade of solid release after solid release, it’s amazing to still hear the band clearly enjoying themselves.
Frontman Jason Evans shrieks, howls and produces all manner of horrifying noises that he has delightfully developed across his career, but manages to get across some real depth and emotion in his performance. Vocal performances from guitarist Sean Hynes are also a welcome addition to the record, with a surprisingly soulful performance on epic closer ‘A Path Once Lost’.
No Ingested album would be complete without the sublime combination of Hynes’ blistering guitar riffs and drummer Lyn Jeffs’ mind-blowing limbs at full power. The two weave in and out of each other’s parts, ebbing and flowing like the tide in the record’s title. Never has their creativity and cohesion been so clear than on songs like ‘Starve the Fire’ and the prog-laden instrumental ‘Numinous’.
The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel but it succeeds in the band’s goal of making an extremely high-quality product from the heart. Constant writing, a packed touring schedule and the undying drive to climb to the top have ensured that Ingested have once again proved themselves the premiere death metal band in the UK. The bar was high, but Ingested easily soar above the rest.