Friday, October 22, 2010

Necrite - "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" album

I like these Bay Area guys in that they take the typical black metal template and fuck with it, showing a musical depth beyond their years. "Sic Transit" is their debut, following years of demos and shows alongside such heavyweights as Watain and Enthroned. It's an unusual mix of stylings, from dark ambient to slow-burn to all-out black metal ferocity. "A Mass For The Harvest Of Death", for example, is a 16-minute doom ride, with crawling early SWANS-style tempos and gurgled vocals. It's a churning cauldron of pain and torture that eventually erupts into a blur of speed and fury. "Bereft Of Hope" also follows this template. The 27-minute title track is an epic of minimalist doombient madness, taking turns crossing between funereal textures and raving lunacy. The final track, "Worship The Sunn O))), does just that. It's a downtuned clot of bass rumble-drone straight out of the Sunn playbook. Perhaps not original, but at least they acknowledge the influence plainly. Necrite's debut is a strong and visionary showing, and I look forward to hearing where they go next. (The Flenser Records)

Necritespace

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