North Carolina seems to be a hotbed for Death Metal at the moment. Having recently covered Abhorrent Deformity who took their death metal stylings to a more brutal approach, Necrocosm take theirs to a more melodic approach. Forming in 2011 and set to release their debut this year, much like their fellow state members who I covered previously, the five piece bring us “Damnation Doctrine” which promises lots, but let’s see if the convictions on this album hold up.
“Damnation” opens the release and you might know what to expect – it’s an instrumental track which flows perfectly into the following one. Instead of going off on another mini rant about how pointless these are and how they should just be tagged into the following track, this one actually serves a purpose. It gives us a good musical introduction into just what to expect from this release. With the Scandinavian death metal sound made famous by the legendary At The Gates, it has that brisk pace and groove to it whilst retaining heaviness and melody whilst some of the guitar lines could have came right out of the Carcass playbook or even Ihsahn’s from back in his Emperor days. Thankfully after two minutes or so, the real fun begins.
“Sworn Hatred” explodes with a big drum fill before the melodic riff work begins but what stands out the most about this track is the vocal style. It leans more towards the raw and brutal edge of the spectrum, something which isn’t often seen with melodic death metal, but it works great. Harsh growls, venomously spat at fast pace and intensity oozing from every bark, it provides the perfect contrast to the melodic and rapid guitar assault. With plenty of rhythmic groove and epic sounding lead fills, it’s something you’d expect to come from the frozen northern reaches of Europe, not the USA, but it works well. “Architects of Death” brings in a sound similar to that of At The Gates and The Haunted with its powerful melodic riffs and the explosive angry edge to the song comes across great. Whether its rapid-fire riffs which twist and turn like a spitfire in a dogfight or ominous sounding slower groove sections, everything cuts through with minimal fuss and the technical and fluid solo is fantastic.
“Disavow” brings in some thrash metal like grooves whilst “Octopian Eclipse” pulls tricks from across the extreme metal spectrum with some tasty harmony riffs, thunderous grooves and dramatic black metal styled trem-picked buzzing lines whilst having a meaty sounding low end and some incredibly precise and intense drum work. It’s almost as if Necrocosm were trying to inject some new life into the melodic death metal approach to liven it up a little with the way they draw together some of the styles of playing which they are using and this dynamic approach and variety of influences really keeps it interesting. One moment there is a Necroticism era Carcass riff then the next thing you know, it slips into At the Gates territory before shifting into late Emperor sounds without any fuss or awkwardness. “Force Fed” really embodies this approach as it has all the key elements mentioned above. Furiously heavy and precise riffing, solid vocal work and melodic harmonies work their magic in the verses whilst the dramatic and heavy black metal phrasings in the transitions to the choruses which have that soaring feel any good melodic death metal harmony laden section has is delightful. It really stands out as the defining moment of the release.
The only downer is that the album starts and ends with instrumental tracks. “Plains Of Inexistence” has a lively and peculiar, almost western movie feel to it with the sound and pace and the galloping feel is fun, but for me it just doesn’t sit right with the album and the rest of the track.
Maybe in a few years, when Necrocosm establish themselves as genuine melodic death metal powerhouses, we might be referring to the “North Carolina” sound in a similar way we do to that of the Scandinavian approach to melodic death metal. If bands like Necrocosm and Abhorrent Deformity keep up the work they are doing and deliver the intensity they have done so far and go from strength to strength, I honestly think this could be the start of something special in the death metal world. In short, if you want some melodic death metal which has a bit more of a darker edge and kick to it, get on board with Necrocosm.
(8/10 Fraggle)
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