Unforgiving, relentless and ear splitting riffs of crypt desecrating madness is what Necrot unleashes upon the metal world with their debut full-length album, “Blood Offerings.” These Bay Area death metal musicians have become a force to be reckoned with amongst the underground metal community. The time just seems right for them to make their conquest across the brutal landscape of extreme music by showing no mercy with the release of their debut album.
After the release of their compilation of remastered demo songs, “Labyrinth,” I have noticed Necrot feverishly putting in the effort and keeping their extreme brand of old school sounding death metal firing on all cylinders. The work ethic is what I respect the most about these guys and the songs on this new album demonstrate what it takes to truly craft some brutal pieces of cranial crushing metal. “Blood Offerings,” is the perfect conjuring of raw old school death metal with a brilliant and unmistakable sound that comes from years of passionate dedication for extreme music.
Like any great trio in rock or metal history, the skill level combined creates such impactful music. The vocals provided by singer and bassist Luca Indrio are bold and merciless. Sonny Reinhardt's vicious guitar playing abilities add such a boost of aggression. Also, his lead parts are precise and get to the point instead of being an extra thirty seconds of aimless shredding. Drummer Chad Gailey plays an important role laying down some crushing drum parts. The recording of his drum sound on the new album is well executed and injects tremendous force into the already bombastic sounding riff sections.
Out of the eight tracks on the album, you are going to find yourself struggling to choose a favorite. For the opening song, “The Blade,” the band unleashes a blistering assault of riff carnage. Chad ushers in the destruction by pounding out some thunderous rhythms from his kit. Sonny’s guitar solo provides a wicked touch to the already devastating sound by offering a flurry of sinister sounding notes that are perfectly incorporated into the song. Track number two, “Rather Be Dead,” wastes no time and dives into the chaos with a rapid fire sounding verse section. The riffs are very catchy and provide optimal moments to bang your head. On the next song, “Shadows and Light,” Necrot maintains their feverish old school sound with Luca presenting some haunting growls. The title track off of the album, “Blood Offerings,” is ferocious sounding and keeps your attention focused on the monstrous sounding instrumental compositions. Sonny’s string bends toward the end of the song send chills down your spine as the song comes to a close.
The second half of the album is just as solid as the first half, so there is little time to catch your breath. Song number five, “Empty Hands,” sounds like something from the Tucker era of Morbid Angel. The tempo fluctuates yet conveys this sound of suffocating musical brutality. “Beneath,” and “Breathing Machine,” hit you hard in the gut with thick distorted guitar and bass riffs. The final song, “Layers of Darkness,” begins with a bone grinding riff of relentless chugging fury along with Chad’s intense style of drumming. There are no dual moments, so until the song ends you will be possessed by the unholy sounding power of Necrot.
From the impressive recording quality to the consistent songwriting, "Blood Offerings" is an album for all those fans who enjoy old school death metal with an unforgiving spirit of unfound brutality. Also, the album is a great example of what happens when a band does not hastily throw material together and knows how to write a strong album from top to bottom. Necrot may not be reinventing the wheel of extreme music, however, their tight sound and solid songwriting skills are quite desirable in the world of extreme music at the moment. We need more bands like Necrot and less bands that sound like a tsunami of musical diarrhea...
Make sure to get your copy of the album from either Tankcrimes (CD) or Sentient Ruin (Cassette). Two great DIY labels from the Bay Area!
Necrot "Empty Hands"