The unforgiving and brutal musicianship that comes from SF Bay Area Old School Death metal maniacs, Necrot, is unmistakable. Their mammoth sized riffs of distorted terror conjure dark noises capable of tearing apart listener’s ears and devouring their souls. Finally, after only releasing demos the band has put together an eight tack release titled, “The Labyrinth.” Thanks to Tankcrimes Records and Sentient Ruin, fans can finally get themselves a physical copy of the release.
The tracks featured on this album are actually the old demos remastered, which gives the pieces a new breath of extreme and unholy life. Necrot is one of the most respected bands in the SF Bay Area extreme music underground, and even though they formed in 2011, they have influenced a fair amount of current acts. This trio captures the energy and passion of old school death metal, while grinding away at some of the most brutal sounding cuts of music. Singer and bassist Luca Indrio commands the attention of listeners with a vicious sounding vocal delivery. Adding to the band’s behemoth world demolishing sound, guitarist Sonny Reinhardt shows off his versatile guitar abilities, while maintaining a wicked sounding riff attack. Drummer Chad Galey is the guy in the back who feverishly pounds away at his kit. When he strikes that bass drum, the sound echoes like the sounds of a malicious thunderstorm.
Honestly, these guys have such a massive sound that you find yourself asking, is this really a trio, or is their some hidden member from a world beyond adding to the band’s sound? The opening track, “Consume Control,” begins with such a thick sounding guitar riff that is complimented by Chad’s rapid attack drumming from behind the kit. Necrot even adds a bit of sludge and hard punk into their sound which some listener’s might catch. It definitely shows how the band is able to offer more than just repetitive old school death metal worship. “Contagious Pain,” “Into the Labyrinth” and “The End,” are ferocious sounding tracks with perpetual sounding brutality inflicted upon listeners.
The final four tracks on this release remain very true to Necrot’s extreme music making identity. “Cycles of Pain,” happens to be one of my favorites and I really like the old school sounding guitar riffs Sonny hammers out. Songs like “Scattered” and “Rebirth in Chaos,” capture the spirit of old school Swedish death metal, which might appeal to fans of Entombed, Grave and other groups in that vein. The final piece to the album, “The Abyss,” is Necrot’s last intense sounding offensive. All three musicians contribute such an equal amount of talent and energy that you can really tell these guys are a solid band.
I think Necrot’s, “The Labyrinth,” has been well worth the wait for those fans wanting to get a full-length release from the band. Also, the recording of each song truly reflected their extreme songwriting skills, so whoever recorded this release deserves some major credit and respect. Necrot may not be the most progressive and technical old school style death metal band around, but their straightforward approach is undeniably top notch. If you are looking for a blazing no nonsense sounding release of old school death metal, you need to get this album!
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