“Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.” – Seneca (c. 3 B.C.E. – 65 C.E.)

In alchemy, fire is the primary agent of change. In life, adversity is a metaphorical fire. While both fire and adversity cannot be categorized as being demonic or divine, destructive or creative, they are a means of returning all things created to their original, organic state of being. Not surprisingly, fire can also represent anger, danger, and ferocity – all analogous qualities that encompass the music on Incinerate, the seventh studio album by Germany’s DEW-SCENTED. Ranking among the most bludgeoning thrash/death hybrids in the New School of Thrash, these extreme music connoisseurs are a breed all their own, where everything created in response to life’s adversities is destined for grander purposes.

Formed in Northern Germany in 1992, adopting the name DEW-SCENTED was a deliberate attempt to be enigmatic and avoid becoming enslaved to expectation to secure a limitless scope of musical possibilities. Releasing six songs as the Symbolization demo in the winter of 1993/1994, DEW-SCENTED scored a record deal with Steamhammer Records/SPV and released Immortelle in February 1996. Tours with Overkill, Edge Of Sanity, Morbid Angel, and Arch Enemy followed, as did the reputation of their live performances. The toll of touring forced line-up changes, but led the band to evolve into a more solid unit. Channeling new focus into their second album under the seasoned production ear of Dan Swanö (Opeth, Katatonia, Dissection), Innoscent was released by fledgling label Grind Syndicate Media (GSM) in the summer of 1998. DEW-SCENTED were soon sharing stages with Death, Dismember, Eucharist, Night In Gales, and with Deicide / Six Feet Under / Amon Amarth / Naglfar / Brutal Truth at the Summer Clash festival tour.

Amidst all the shows – including a performance at Germany’s famed Waken Open Air festival - DEW-SCENTED managed to complete a new album with no formal time off. Their third offering, Ill-Natured, was released by GSM in the summer of 1999. An avalanche of savage freneticism, Ill-Natured honed their approach to the death-tinged thrash that would become DEW-SCENTED’s signature sound. With another album to support, the band hit the road again playing festivals and various shows with the likes of Immortal, Vader, and Cryptopsy, toured Europe with Overkill & Annihilator, and crowned their Ill-Natured campaign off with a Japanese tour alongside Defleshed and Night In Gales.

Armed with a steady line-up, DEW-SCENTED entered Stage One Studios with producer Andy Classen (Rotting Christ, Krisiun, Asphyx) in mid-2001 to record Inwards, which won several “Album Of The Month” awards in numerous magazines around the world. Earning greater exposure and recognition, the Jensen-Müeller-Werning core attracted the guitar & songwriting talents of Hendrik Bache, who joined the band in time for a round of ceaseless touring – through Europe supporting Cannibal Corpse, in the U.K. with Vader, during a multi-country excursion with German thrash icons Kreator, Destruction & Sodom, at the With Full Force, Summer Rocks, Party-San & Metalfest Vienna festivals, and ultimately, at their North American Milwaukee Metalfest debut in 2002. The common thread throughout all their live performances were the consistently positive reactions of the audiences, which signaled and predicted DEW-SCENTED’s rise to prominence.

Returning to Stage One Studios to work on their fifth studio album with Andy Classen, the aptly titled Impact not only showcased a thicker and richer guitar tone, but also managed to capture a genuine representation of the band’s live sound. DEW-SCENTED’s arresting technical prowess - unleashed throughout Europe with Destruction, Deicide & Amon Amarth on the X-Mass Festival, at the Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze & Earthshaker festivals, and at the New Jersey Metal Fest in 2003 - led Outburn Magazine to lament how the album had been “criminally overlooked” in North America while Kerrang! Magazine championed the release with a 4-K review and the declaration that “DEW-SCENTED kick righteous ass!”

For their sixth album, Issue VI, DEW-SCENTED upped the riff ante. At Stage One Studios, producer Andy Classen harnessed the death-driven fury of Müeller and Bache’s searing barbed wire dual guitar attack, Pahl (ex-Obscenity)’s devastating bass rhythms, Werning’s refined double-bass executions, and the eloquent lyrics & delivery of Leif Jensen’s emotional anguish & despair. “With their heady brew of healthy vitality,” wrote Metal Maniacs Magazine, “DEW-SCENTED have been transcending the original San Francisco thrash spark for years.” Not only did the band tour Japan and return to support Nevermore throughout Europe in 2005, but they also played the Minneapolis Mayhem Festival and secured a four-week maiden tour of North America with Vader & Decapitated (with live guitarist & longtime friend Marvin Vriesde of Severe Torture covering for the departed Müeller). Reconsidering his earlier decision, Müeller rejoined the band in time to hit the road through twelve countries in Europe with Cryptopsy, Grave, and Aborted on the Domination Tour.

Fueled by their successful live campaign, DEW-SCENTED teamed up with Jörg Uken at Soundlodge Studios (God Dethroned) in Germany in late 2006 to produce Incinerate. Mixed by Andy Sneap (Exodus, Arch Enemy, Kreator) in England, Incinerate’s message is simple: Nothing is more brutal than the reality we survive on a daily basis. Day-to-day life is our burden, our eternal internal apocalypse, and as demonstrated in the artwork by Bjoern Goosses of Killustrations, the heart takes center stage. Defying simplistic formulas and opting for more intricate song structures, DEW-SCENTED feast on reality-based topics. With the relentless aural battering of “Aftermath,” the brain-sweltering “Vanish Away,” the guitar-interplay on “That’s Why I Despise You,” and the lavish despondency of “Into The Arms Of Misery,” Incinerate weaves in & out of double-bass poundings and frantic blast beats, shifts from furious guitar riffs to abrupt silences (not unlike final blows from a sledgehammer!), and carries you through succinct empathy to unpredictable volatility. As the German adage goes, “The way is the goal.” Progress must be had for the flames of all-out rage; meanings must be twisted to reach an equivalent inverse to carry us through the misfortunes that befall us everyday. Featuring guest vocals by Kreator’s Mille Petrozza on “Retain The Scars” and guitar solos by Jeff Waters of Annihilator & Gus G. of Firewind on “Perdition For All,” DEW-SCENTED have successfully captured the fire of their live aggression in the studio, and remain a golden example of the creative rewards we can harvest if only we surrender to the incendiary prospects within us all.