Necrodeath - Black As Pitch
Scarlet Records - 2002
Reviewed by Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Scarlet Records website.
Necrodeath are obviously fans of most forms of extreme metal, seeing as they've managed to throw elements of thrash, death and black metal into a massive musical blender and come out with a caustic, flesh-stripping acid bath of an album out of it.
Opener 'Red As Blood' comes ripping out of the speakers like a malevolent demon, a full-on thrash metal assault with requisite machine-gun riffage and harsh screams. 'Riot Of Stars' continues the breakneck pace, incorporating a brutal death-metal midsection that fits perfectly with the rest of the song. Third track 'Burn And Deny' briefly brings the pace down a little with a slightly more restrained melodic riff and sinister, chugging chorus that turns into an acoustic melody backed by crashing power chords, which itself turns rapidly into another rapidfire passage.
Over the course of this album, you're battered with super-fast double-bass drumming, stunning musicianship from the guitarists (who could could at times challenge Children Of Bodom's Alex Laiho in terms of 'who can put the most string-bends into a single riff), the vocalist's schizophrenic style (straddling black metal screams, thrash metal barks and death metal grunts effortlessly), the bassist's assured fretwork in the rhythm section, and the way the various styles of metal meld together so well to form a cohesive, satisfying sound.
The one problem with the album comes in the form of the end of the last track, 'Church's Black Book'. After the track itself has finished, Necrodeath spoil everything by deciding to recite a litany of dates and events chronicling all of the atrocities committed by the Christian Church over the years. Interesting if you're doing a history project, perhaps, but considering that it lasts for nearly eight minutes, probably not the ideal way to end an album.
This slightly irritating aspect notwithstanding, Necrodeath have produced a fantastic extreme metal album that is worthy of all extremists' attentions.
9/10
Scarlet Records - 2002
Reviewed by Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Scarlet Records website.
Necrodeath are obviously fans of most forms of extreme metal, seeing as they've managed to throw elements of thrash, death and black metal into a massive musical blender and come out with a caustic, flesh-stripping acid bath of an album out of it.
Opener 'Red As Blood' comes ripping out of the speakers like a malevolent demon, a full-on thrash metal assault with requisite machine-gun riffage and harsh screams. 'Riot Of Stars' continues the breakneck pace, incorporating a brutal death-metal midsection that fits perfectly with the rest of the song. Third track 'Burn And Deny' briefly brings the pace down a little with a slightly more restrained melodic riff and sinister, chugging chorus that turns into an acoustic melody backed by crashing power chords, which itself turns rapidly into another rapidfire passage.
Over the course of this album, you're battered with super-fast double-bass drumming, stunning musicianship from the guitarists (who could could at times challenge Children Of Bodom's Alex Laiho in terms of 'who can put the most string-bends into a single riff), the vocalist's schizophrenic style (straddling black metal screams, thrash metal barks and death metal grunts effortlessly), the bassist's assured fretwork in the rhythm section, and the way the various styles of metal meld together so well to form a cohesive, satisfying sound.
The one problem with the album comes in the form of the end of the last track, 'Church's Black Book'. After the track itself has finished, Necrodeath spoil everything by deciding to recite a litany of dates and events chronicling all of the atrocities committed by the Christian Church over the years. Interesting if you're doing a history project, perhaps, but considering that it lasts for nearly eight minutes, probably not the ideal way to end an album.
This slightly irritating aspect notwithstanding, Necrodeath have produced a fantastic extreme metal album that is worthy of all extremists' attentions.
9/10
