Necrot - Blood Offerings

By Matt Hinch. Recently I talked about a little band featuring a member of Vastum (Shelby Lermo) called Extremity and their debut, Extremely Fucking Dead. It's one of the best death metal albums of the year so far by far. Well, hold on a minute.

By Matt Hinch.

Cover art by Marald Van Haasteren

Recently I talked about a little band featuring a member of Vastum (Shelby Lermo) called Extremity and their debut, Extremely Fucking Dead. It's one of the best death metal albums of the year so far by far. Well, hold on a minute. Hot on the heels of that bruiser comes Blood Offerings, the debut (proper) full-length from the Bay Area's Necrot, also featuring a member of Vastum! That would be vocalist/guitarist/bassist Luca Indrio. Rounding out the deadly trio is Vastum alumni and current Atrament drummer Chad Gailey and Saviours guitarist Sonny Reinhardt.

Almost everything I've seen regarding Necrot likens them to Bolt Thrower. I couldn't name a Bolt Thrower song if I tried (nor could I for the other name bandied about, Autopsy) but that doesn't mean the meat and potatoes death metal that crushes your ears on Blood Offerings won't endear itself to like-minded individuals. It just might mean spending some time with Bolt Thrower is necessary. But there's no rush to visit a classic band when Blood Offerings has all the makings of a classic itself.

The first thing to notice is how the album never quits. From start to finish it simply kills. The rhythm guitars fire off enough chugging riffs and speed-laden runs to subdue any foe while the leads burn their bones to ash. Dictating the carnage, Indrio shreds his throat with the kind of growl that isn't totally indecipherable and drips with a bloody sheen that never feels too forced or ridiculous. In other words, perfectly suited to the necrotic filth around them.

Photos by Carmelo Española.

Let's not forget how much of a machine Gailey is. His energy is non-stop. To keep a creature like Necrot continually pushing forward requires horsepower and stamina. Both of which are present in spades. His cymbal work is outstanding, especially on the title track.

Necrot capture the essence of what makes death metal death metal. It's something that makes the muscles flex, the neck specifically. Spectacular riff after spectacular riff unleash the beast within balancing speed and power. If I wanted to marvel at complexity I'd listen to prog. This is straightforward but not stupid. There's a lot going on sometimes but you don't have to “figure it out”. They find that propulsive drive, that chugging rhythm, that “crush it all” mentality and work it hard. Sure they throw in some fine-fingered touches but they don't make fretboard Olympics the focus. Just beat me over the head with a bag of shrunken heads and keep it coming!

I'm not trying to dumb it down, but sometimes you just have to put your shit away and rage. That's where Blood Offerings comes in. A lot of death metal has and will be released this year but Necrot and Blood Offerings will definitely make the podium when all is said and done. It's an outstanding 40 minutes of destructive power and sickening riffs you should be willing to offer blood for.

Now when can we expect a Necrot, Extremity and Vastum tour? Can Memoriam come too? Would anyone survive?

Dave's Demo Roundup Vol II.

By Dave Schalek. Kudos to our host Max for sending me the latest and greatest in demos hitting the Bandcamp circuit. Up on the docket for this issue of Dave’s Demo Roundup we have releases from Necrot, Lawless, and Cold Fell.

By Dave Schalek.

Kudos to our host Max for sending me the latest and greatest in demos hitting the Bandcamp circuit. Up on the docket for this issue of Dave’s Demo Roundup we have releases from Necrot, Lawless, and Cold Fell.

Cover by Lukas Krieg

As good as the Bay Area scene is these days, it’s not really one known for OSDM (with the notable exceptions of Acephalix and Vastum). That’s about to change as Necrot tear through a raw as Hell three-song demo (well, it’s an EP) in The Abyss. The Abyss as a title is apt; beefy OSDM with a wicked guitar tone and a crushing bass and percussion steamrolls over you in about 12 minutes. A deep seated production that’s crystal clear aids the cause, and the guitars also have a very subtle degree of technicality to them whilst buried amidst gigantic riffs. Atmosphere is further enhanced by gruff vocals.

Speaking of Acephalix and Vastum, it will probably come as no surprise that there’s a fair amount of cross pollination going on between those bands and Necrot with shared members.

Artwork by Kyle House

Speaking of cross pollination, guess what? Yet another band with member connections to Acephalix, Vastum, and Necrot appears in the form of Lawless, a Bay Area OSDM act that is rapidly causing me to rescind my earlier statement.. Like Necrot, Lawless law down the law with a three-song demo of extremely chunky, bass heavy OSDM with a mid-paced gallop and the proverbial two-ton weight utilized as a production value. A bit slower and slightly less raw than Necrot, Lawless provide a nice finish to a one two punch of releases from the Bay Area. Unfortunately, Lawless have apparently disbanded, but I suspect that we've not heard the last from the circle of musicians connected to these bands.




Switching gears, the U.K.’s Cold Fell play scathing, ice cold black metal with lots of tremelo-picked guitars, subtle hints of melody, blastbeats, and hoary rasps. Obviously influenced by the Second Wave of Norwegian Black Metal, Cold Fell would fit right in with early Gorgoroth and, perhaps, Burzum, as their two-song demo does take on an air of the majestic. A more modern production differentiates Cold Fell somewhat from the bands of the era, but the subtle hints of melody go a long way towards making Cold Fell a pleasing listen.

Necrot - Into the Labyrinth

Cover by Lukas Krieg, logo by David Torturdød

The second demo from Necrot is available on their Bandcamp. Into the Labyrinth is punishing and pummeling old school Death Metal that goes straight for the jugular. The songs are more varied than on their first demo has, another example of "old school" not necessarily meaning primitive. The production on the first demo was crusty, but had a certain punkish crispness. You'll hear none of that here; Necrot moved from the garage and deep down into the infernal dungeon. The sound is certainly not original, but delightfully rumbling and fuzzy; and you're still able to pick out some (not all) of the actual playing. Necrot shoots read hot Death Metal straight into your accepting veins.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

For the perfect old-school feeling grab Into the Labyrinth on tape from Blood Divine.

Necrot - Necrot

Front Cover: Lukas Krieg

The Necrot cassette is available as a digital download for a couple of bucks on their Bandcamp. This is two tracks, 8 minutes, of putrid old school death metal. Just about everything sounds like it's covered in layers of crust, including the properly vile sounding vocals. There are plenty of gnarly riffs, pummeling drums and an ominous rumbling bass. Sometimes a simple "fuck yeah death metal!" is called for, I believe this is one of those occasions.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]