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NECROS CHRISTOS (Deu): "Grave Damnation" MCD
(Worship Him Records)
In a recent article I wrote for my cultural column in Zero Tolerance, I made mention of my visit to the Lake District on the eve of the Summer Solstice and of how I spent the evening of the 20th June on the Ravenglass Estuary, in waders and up to my groin in icy water, observing while White Hunter attempted to catch sea bass before heading off to the Sunkenkirk stone circle. While gathering our gear before crossing over to the opposite bank, White Hunter was playing one of his (and also my) favourite albums, HYPOCRISY's "Osculum Obscenum". The latter was one of the darkest Death Metal albums ever made, which, either due to the inability or the disinclination of others, has since 1993 remained unique and unsurpassed in regards to its sheer force and truly chilling, occult atmosphere. NECROS CHRISTOS is really the only band I have come across in the past 13 years who sound like "Osculum Obscenum": we find in "Grave Damnation" the same ultra-downtuned guitars, the same evil synth highlights, the same deep growls for vocals, and, save for the absolute dominance of the middle tempos, even very similar dynamics. Despite the inlay listing eight tracks, four of these are malevolent, occult intros, leaving a relative short playing time. This is, however, more than made up for by the inspiredness of the riffing, the bestiality of the sound, and the effectiveness of the song writing. With songs like "Ritual Doom Commands", "Curse of the Necromantical Sabbath", and "Red Wine Runs Out of the White Skull of Jesus"; and with technical notes written in a florid, archaic language laden with ceremonial vocabulary, it is evident that the material is obsesses around Satanic religious themes - again much like the progenitor HYPOCRISY album. Released via an obscure (Bergen-based) Norwegian label, this is unlikely to remain available for long. Get it while it is possible, or wait until the full album comes out and find yourself weeping with an incomplete discography. Reviewed by: AK-47.
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