Incite | Savage New Times Review

By Griff Stevens

Savage New Times is Incite’s project that focuses less on reinvention and more on refinement. The technical aspects of the music and the production are precisely where the strength of the ten songs lies. Incite has always thrived on making aggression sound airtight, and with this project the balance between rawness and technical craft is dialed-in. From the opening cut “Lies,” the record announces itself with a snare tone that is crisp, punishing, and perfectly aligned to EL’s weighty bass foundation. This small, but crucial production detail keeps the low end thick without ever clouding Layne Richardson’s cutting guitar tone. Producer Steve Evetts’ hand is evident: each layer is carved for maximum impact, avoiding the over-compression that often plagues modern thrash.

Songwriting-wise, the band maintains their hallmark riff-first approach, but shifts in feel within the songs give the album more variance than prior outings. “Just a Rat” showcases this well, pivoting from a brutal down-picked wall to a verse section that rides syncopated accents, showing the rhythm section’s part adds contour to the song form. Similarly, “Chucked Off” leans on Lennon Lopez’s double-kick patterns to drive the verses before collapsing into a halftime grind that turns the track into a pit anthem. These are familiar building blocks, but they’re executed with a confidence that speaks to years of road-hardening.

Savage New Times puts more texture into each song compared to the band’s earlier work. This attention to contrast is reflected in the middle section of “Doubts and the Fear” as the texture pulls back with clean guitars and space before erupting into heaviness. Another quality that works because the band had faith in restraint can be found in “Dolores.” This wildcard setting has a piano that unfolds into a mid-tempo dirge, capped by a delightful guitar solo that has lyrical shred.

Mix engineer Arthur Rizk deserves credit for balancing these extremes. The guitar tracks retain grit without drowning the rhythm section. The guitar distortion is also varied for more texture with the set of songs. Richie Cavalera’s vocals sit forward enough to punch, but not so processed that the human edge is lost.

For the takeaway, Savage New Times has that aggression Incite is known for with varying shades of density. Savage New Times shows how precision, pacing, and sonic variance can turn familiar thrash elements into something sharper.

Artist: Incite
Album: Savage New Times
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

Release Date: August 15, 2025

About the author

Griff Stevens