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I liked Incursion's EP The Hunter and have been waiting on a full album, and now in 2022 we have it in the form of Blinding Force. The epic, galloping metal of the EP has carried over as the opening title track will make crystal clear. The next thing that becomes clear with a few listens is that Blinding Force starts to skew away from the spacious, lands out of time vibe over the course of the record and into a more direct traditional metal style not unlike Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden. "Master of Evil" has a classic twin-guitar opening riff and "Strike Down" showcases a Steve Harris-inspired bass line. The culmination is a good cover of Triumph's "Allied Forces" which is a great song but certainly not what you'd ever call "epic." What I also notice is how the singer, who is generally pretty good, seems occasionally overmatched by some of the vocal lines, especially the high parts on "The Rites" and "Blinding Force." He's not out of tune but he sounds like he's working very hard to get where he needs to be and isn't all that comfortable when he gets there. I don't fault the band for exploring ideas outside of straight epic metal and trying different things and I like Blinding Force as a whole, it is just an odd listening experience with the different approaches, like a homemade mix tape with alternating songs from Omen's Battle Cry and Iron Maiden cuts like "Sanctuary" and "Running Free." By all means, grab a copy of Blinding Force if you are digging the epic metal wave and bands like Eternal Champion, Megaton Sword, Gatekeeper, Legendry, etc. It might not strike as hard as the EP, but it is a worthy release.