Necrodeath
Mater Of All Evil
[Scarlet]
Well, well, isn’t this a surprise! Perhaps the solitary good release to ever come out of the collective arse of Scarlet Records (just as radical a revelation as Athanatos being on Last Episode Productions), Necrodeath present us with a molten, solid slab of convincing death/thrash, radiating vitriol and conviction.
An Italian outfit that has reportedly been in existence since the age of Bulldozer, kudos must indeed be showered on Scarlet Records for fishing this troupe out of obscurity and into this disgruntled naysayer’s stereo. What we have here is a strictly conservative and traditional affair, equal parts Pleasure To Kill, Persecution Mania and enough modern bite to save this effort from being another substandard, dime-a-dozen neo-thrash outfit.
First of all, Necrodeath seem to be more adept at their instruments than the average beer n’ booze troupe, not afraid to incorporate a little tightness into their brand of old-school metal, and thus courting taboo with the old-school community. Slick time changes, serrated and upfront riffage meld themselves with numerous musical curveballs and tortured vocals is the Necrodeath equation for success apparently, and boy, does it work well. On a song writing level, Necrodeath operates at a much higher level than the average death/thrash band, fusing together a myriad of instrumental approaches (the acoustic guitar is a very apparent element of the music here, blending itself into the ensuing fury in a manner At The Gates would be duly proud of) and unpredictable tempo shifts in a most slinky, fluid manner, creating truly memorable and spiteful songs. And I haven’t even mentioned the vocals yet. Sounding like a rabid cross-breed of earlier Killjoy and Mille Petrozza, the vocals are yet another dynamic topping off this incredible release.
So there you have it. Another death/thrash album, only this one offers more precision in the tightness department, more modernity, more continuity, more invention and simply overwhelms most of the neo-thrash revolution with a superior song writing approach. How this band was unnoticed in the ‘80s I’m not entirely sure, but this release alone has single-handedly pulled Scarlet out of the Ahhhrrrssseeee, nether-legions league that Serenades and Last Episode inhabit. Go buy it.
[9]
© 2000 equimanthorn
An Italian outfit that has reportedly been in existence since the age of Bulldozer, kudos must indeed be showered on Scarlet Records for fishing this troupe out of obscurity and into this disgruntled naysayer’s stereo. What we have here is a strictly conservative and traditional affair, equal parts Pleasure To Kill, Persecution Mania and enough modern bite to save this effort from being another substandard, dime-a-dozen neo-thrash outfit.
First of all, Necrodeath seem to be more adept at their instruments than the average beer n’ booze troupe, not afraid to incorporate a little tightness into their brand of old-school metal, and thus courting taboo with the old-school community. Slick time changes, serrated and upfront riffage meld themselves with numerous musical curveballs and tortured vocals is the Necrodeath equation for success apparently, and boy, does it work well. On a song writing level, Necrodeath operates at a much higher level than the average death/thrash band, fusing together a myriad of instrumental approaches (the acoustic guitar is a very apparent element of the music here, blending itself into the ensuing fury in a manner At The Gates would be duly proud of) and unpredictable tempo shifts in a most slinky, fluid manner, creating truly memorable and spiteful songs. And I haven’t even mentioned the vocals yet. Sounding like a rabid cross-breed of earlier Killjoy and Mille Petrozza, the vocals are yet another dynamic topping off this incredible release.
So there you have it. Another death/thrash album, only this one offers more precision in the tightness department, more modernity, more continuity, more invention and simply overwhelms most of the neo-thrash revolution with a superior song writing approach. How this band was unnoticed in the ‘80s I’m not entirely sure, but this release alone has single-handedly pulled Scarlet out of the Ahhhrrrssseeee, nether-legions league that Serenades and Last Episode inhabit. Go buy it.
[9]
© 2000 equimanthorn