Review by Adam M on March 31, 2017.

Warbringer brings a thrash punch to the table that is very relevant.  There is an aggression present here that hasn’t been found this year yet.  The result is a very powerful album that has all the right riffs at the right places.  Playing to the harsher side of the genre is intelligent as there is more melody and old school vibe found in the latest records by Kreator and Overkill. 

The music here has a tough guy aspect that is different than many other bands and perhaps similar to Havok, who released an album this year.  The difference between band and other thrash acts lies in this harsh aspect that is brought about in the greatest manner possible.  It is not similar to the Bay Area style of thrash played by most bands that is more streamlined in nature.  The sound is instead very aggressive and based upon this aspect alone.  It is successful in bringing about influences from Slayer to the table in an effective manner.  Songs follow a similar template of viciousness and this makes for a very fun record to listen to.  There is always a passion found to the tracks that elevates them above simple thrash songs.  The overwhelming energy of the band can be seen from the tracks Divinity of Flesh and When the Guns Fell Silent.  The problem here is that there is nothing overtly different from thrash that has already been done in the past.  This leads to songs that sound very typical of the genre and don’t try to push boundaries much. 

There is still a great amount of power and chaos to be found that elevates these tracks to a new level.  Also, the songs are short and thus make their impact within a small time frame.  This is a very appropriate album for thrash genre because it fills in a hole that is nice to have.  This hole is for an abrasive thrash album, which Woe To The Vanquished delivers in spades.   

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by JD on November 8, 2012.

Sludge Metal is getting a bit more popular these days, just look at the units sold numbers chalked up by Mastodon with the last album - impressive is the word for that. This is a style that I am getting more and more into, as I review every new album that is handed to me. One of the relative newcomer on to this scene is Italian Sludge/Hardcore/Progsters Incoming Cerebral Overdrive.

ICO is a band that seems to be a triad of distinct styles in one. One side of it is low slung Sludge Metal played with a heavy hand and retrospective lyrics, the next is a Progressive angle that shows off a band that is formulated on talent and the anger and passion of an offshoot of Hardcore to channel all of the aggression they have. It is blended into a well oiled machine of originality, fuelled by the passion that comes with the need for playing heavy music.

Ten songs are offered up by the band, a sort of retrospective into a persons varied thoughts, of sheer craziness and fleeting lucidness, set to a thunderous wall of drums and crushing guitars. Each track seems to follow its own path, piecing out the story of both sanity and insanity with smatterings of grey areas through it - showing a complexity that is both appealing and appalling all done with powerful riffs that simply blows your head off of your body.

Incoming Cerebral Overdrive is a perfect example of what a thinking person’s metal is, yet it shows almost a feral sort of need for headbanging as well. Smarts and nastiness in one package... gotta go with the word awesome. Looking forward to hearing the next album from these titanic Italians... and I hope they don’t keep me waiting for very long.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.0 out of 10