Imprecation

***"Formed in 1991 and hailing from Houston, Imprecation are among the few bands from that era—along with such notable acts as Absu and Divine Eve—that were responsible for securing the legacy of death metal in Texas. The band began with guitarist Phil Westmoreland and drummer Ruben Elizondo, departed from a band called Dark Reign to pursue a different sound with a new project. Originally called Undertaker, the band underwent several lineup and stylistic changes before it coalesced into Imprecation with the addition of bassist Mark Beecher, guitarist Victor Fernandez, and vocalist Dave Herrera. Influenced by revered death metal acts like Entombed, Morbid Angel, and Immolation, as well as black metal pioneers Beherit, Blasphemy, and Profanatica, Imprecation enshrouded their tightly wound, intricately structured songs within a dense and opaque atmosphere. Like many of their peers in the underground scene at the time, there was a darker dimension to their style of death metal, channeling malefic forces and conjuring hellish visions."—J. Campbell. Theurgia Goetia Summa compiles the band's demos recorded between 1992 and 1994, along with four tracks from 2012.