Immolation for me, not only do I consider them to be a more distinctive band, but they have more great albums, and only one dud. While I only ever listen to Incantation's first two.

I want to vote for Immolation, but I can't, because Onward to Golgotha is the best death metal album of any other albums that these bands have released and amongst the elite death metal albums of all times. If we were comparing albums, there would only be a handful of death albums that could compete with OtG. So I vote for Incantation.

Incantation for me. I love all of the Craig Pillard stuff, including Disciples Of Mockery, considerably more than anything that Immolation has done.

Jared, pick one and stop being a fucking pussy!

This one is a toss up for me. Each band kinda provides certain aspects that the other lacks. I always thought that Incantation was the more relentless and brutal of the pair. They are undeniably one of the forefathers of murky, cavernous death metal filth. OTG being a iconic testament to that legacy (as previously stated). Immolation edges them out (ever so slightly) with malevolent, evil soaked riffage, creativity and technical skill. Notice I said evil and not brutal.

Immolation gets my vote in the end!

ha ha

i'm voting incantation mainly because it took me a lot longer to 'get into' them than immolation and i find myself playing their music more often than immolation, it sounds more varied to me.
they are first equal my favourite death metal bands though so very hard to choose really, at least we aren't comparing individual albums [yet]

my worst nightmare would be if they both came to nz and played at the same time at a festival or something and i had to choose who to see play

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Incantation for sure. Onward to Golgotha alone smashes Immolation to pieces. Also I like the Profanatica connection on Incantation and it also is very present on the riffing/song writing, but McEntee was anyways member of Profanatica in the beginning.

As in whilst I enjoy the "classic" releases from both bands, I prefer Primordial Domination/Decimate Christendom over Harnessing Ruin/Shadows in the Light/Majesty and Decay.

Shit, this is fucking tough... Immolation is so goooood, but Incantation is just that teeny tiny bit better in my opinion. I think it's their sort of... occult feeling.

I like Immolation's sound on paper, but in practice I'm rarely in the mood; good band though...Incantation is better, however, simply for Mortal Throne of Nazarene. What a dense, hellish work.

Listening to Incantation is a chore. They were good the first time I played it and then it became rather bland and uninteresting really fast. Immolation on the other hand are masters at crafting deep and searing tunes and never lose me in that process of craft.

Immolation, I never got into Incantation's music for some reason.

Incantation! DURRRRRRRRRRRR!
I rarely listen to Death metal but Incantation for me is one of those bands that truly stand out for me in the subgenre. I like Immolation's last album but can't actually recall quite why.

My vote is for Immolation. Both bands had unique, filthy, cavernous takes on death metal compared to many of their NY/NJ contemporaries that were more focused on grindcore elements, technicality, and of course the slams. Immolation, however, remains untouched. While several newer bands in recent years have attempted to scrape off some of Incantation's occult insanity, Immolation exists solely unto themselves.

I think it would be interesting to revisit this poll in a few months time next year when both have released their latest albums. Who knows how all of our opinions might change or be reinforced after then.

I don't think they'd change much over one album. Both bands have already reached their peek, so it would be really surprising to see either band out due themselves this late in the game. Having said that, I'm heavily anticipating a new work from Immolation. Was really interesting and awesome to hear some high production value on the last release...curious to see what they do next. The ep they put out was great as well.

While I immensely enjoy both bands, I chose Immolation. The churning, dissonant riffs and off kilter rhythms seal the deal for me.

Voted Immolation.

Not sure what the big deal is with Onward to Golgotha. The flat production ruins it and makes it sound like toilet water. Mortal Throne of Nazerene was a giant step up, but still not enough to beat Immolation.

There are heaps of Immo worship bands around too, although not as much exact replication as Incant.

I'm not a huge fan of either band but they are ok. I guess like Immolation's Dawn of Possession a tad more than anything Incantation did.

Love the first two Incantations albums about equal to Immolation's Dawn of Possession, and after that Immolation seems to have stayed much more interesting over the years, though neither band comes close to their earliest work for me. That said, I think Immolation today blows Incantation today away, but I have high respect for both for staying true to playing dark ominous and weird death metal. Few bands have stayed with it as long as they have without releasing some dodgey 'core' shit or writing friendly riffs.

Though I love and enjoy both bands, and feel that both artists are extremely memorable in the riff-writing department, I voted for Immolation for the simple reason that they are probably my favorite Death Metal band (and one of the most consistent as well). It would be closer if Onward to Golgotha had better production, but Wilytank is pretty much spot on, as that also mars it for me enough to the point from it being a first-tier DM album like say Mortal Throne of Nazarene was.

Color me surprised, didn't expect this to be so one-sided. I voted for Incantation. I simply find them more representative of what I look for in death metal. They're filthy and depraved, blasphemous and alien. And as Abominatrix stated in the original Sabbat vs Sabbat thread, the way they sprinkle in the doomed out sections to contrast with the blurry-fast storming parts is just incredibly gripping to me.

yeah this poll kinda suprises me as well. i thought it would be a lot closer than it is.

The big difference probably has to do with the fact that Immolation is simply more accesible and immediately rewarding. Yes, both bands are heavy as hell and pretty unique in their own way, but while Immolation has (relatively) big amounts of melody and more or less traditional hooks one can latch itself to while listening, Incantation requires somewhat of a particular mindset to enjoy them. Not to mention, of course, that they are rather cacophonous.

I don't mean to belittle Onward to Golgotha in any way, as it truly is a great album, but I would encourage everyone who cherishes that thing as much as it deserves to keep digging into Incantation's discography, if they haven't! I really believe almost everything the band has done has been monumental in one way or another. Every album is pretty unique despite always having the trademark Incantation sound, which, I might add, though imitated a fair amount lately, has never been approximated. Mortal Throne/Upon the Throne may even be better than the debut for me (such an incredibly evil sounding record!), Blasphemy is insane, The Infernal Storm has some of their best and most angular riff/rhythm changes, the Forsaken Mourning EP is totally ferocious, and Diabolical Conquest, though I find the vocals and sound to be a bit unfitting, surely has some of their most complex and unpredictable songs. SO yes, Incantation for me. I'm a fan of Immolation as well, but I find only here in After and Close to a World Below getting regular play. Don't get me wrong though, both albums are absolutely huge!

I'm actually having a harder time getting into Immolation for real than I ever did with Incantation. Incantation is just stupidly heavy, atmospheric filth, whereas Immolation typically seem to have more going on underneath the sludge. Played Dawn of Possession again last night and it was definitely better than the last time I played it.

Mmmmmm, weird, although I do agree with what you say about Immolation having more stuff going on at the same time than Incantation. Me though? I simply find the second band to be more...... Noisy, I guess. Incantation for me sound extremely thick and blurry, and I only listen to them when in a very specific type of mood. Immolation, on the other hand, I find to be infinitely catchier and easier to listen to.

Immolation, but mainly because I haven't really applied myself into delving deeply through Incant's material. I've seen them live and they were ok, I suppose....not anywhere as well received here as Immo, but the guys in the band were absolutely awesome dudes to just chill and converse with.

agree

I'm not a huge fan of either band, but I voted for Immolation simply because Incantation kind of treads the line into what I consider "boring" DM...i.e. the stuff that started to appear in the early 90s where the vocals tried to be "more guttural than thou", the use of pitchshifters/cupped mike/other effects to make everything sound forced and silly. I'm probably being a little harsh here on Incantation, but whatever.

I don't know why these two keep getting compared, it's a total apples/oranges argument at its most ridiculous because their best albums are clearly at the same tier despite being radically different. Burzum vs Mayhem at least made some sense because of the backstory.

Because their names sound similar, they are both early 90s osdm, they are both American, they are both held in high regard in this community, the result of a poll isn't too obvious and it's fun.

I don't know about filthy and depraved - those aren't really the things I look for in... Well, anything. But alien - that's what I look for in death metal and that's what Incantation were pretty much the first to properly reach. Something otherworldly, demonic - not in the sense of a horned and winged beast with hooves, but something malevolent, unfathomable and something that cannot be understood.

I sort of agree with Abominatrix. One should not neglect the Throne albums or Diabolical Conquest in favor of Onward to Golgotha. The Thrones are probably even better, even more alien than Golgotha and while Conquest is a bit more standard, there's a mystical quality to it that puts it forward as something unique in Incantation's discography. I'm not too keen on what they did after that. They're good albums, but aside from Blasphemy, I very rarely listen to them.

As for Immolation, it's pretty much just Dawn of Possession, Here in After and Unholy Cult that I listen to and much more rarely those than the aforementioned Incantation albums.

Yeah, sure I can see that. I worded it badly, I was trying to make an observation this "rivalry" comes up a lot more often than it deserves, much more often than generic "-ation" discussions. Not just in this community but anywhere New York death metal is a topic it'll eventually boil down to Immolation vs Incantation with other bands from the region excluded, which is strange.

I voted for Immolation just for the sheer fact that Dawn of Possession was one of the first death metal albums i heard, but that being said i am a huge Incantation fan, and am always wearing my onward to golgotha shirt

I think the two bands have a good deal of similarity. Don't you? They were often compared in the 90s, too, as I remember. Both bands are from (roughly) the same geographical location, employ a lot of shifts from fast, near-blasting tempos to doomy crawls, are fond of using harmonics in their riffs, use a similar guitar sound...

Of course there are differences, too, and the poll highlights which permutation everyone prefers.

I've never seen these two bands being compared to each other for the purpose of competition, ever. I've only ever seen unanimous praise for both of them. That's why this poll is interesting, they're two titans of arguably identical quality.

I've never seen Burzum vs. Mayhem either. Don't think anyone's ever asked whether "De Mysteriis..." is better than "Filosofem".

^
That.

Being said, I voted for Immolation. Really because it was hard to choose, so I just went with the one I heard first.
Plus... Close to a World Below, man.

Hard decision, but i picked IMMOLATION, most because "Dawn Of Possession" and the awesome demos/Rigor Mortis(Pre-Immolation) stuff, catchy as hell Deathrash. Also, the guitar work on "Here In After" is insane.

Incantation is a fucking great band (love their ep's and their first 2 records), but demand certain mood to get into their macabre music. Immolation is much more dynamic.

Incantation by far.