ALBUMS THAT WILL F*CK YOUR FACE OFF IN 2011: NECROS CHRISTOS, DOOM OF THE OCCULT
Necros Christos
Doom of the Occult
Label – Ván, Sepulchral Voice, The Ajna Offensive
Release date – Early 2011
Discovering that there will be a new full-length from Necros Christos in 2011 was one of the best Christmas presents I got this year. While, given my Catholic grandmother’s penchant for gifting me gaudy earrings and gold crucifix necklaces, that isn’t exactly saying much, trust me, it’s a big fucking deal.
Those who are familiar with the Necros Christos cult should be creaming themselves about now. Those who aren’t should remedy that real fucking quick, because this German quartet are due to release the heaviest album of 2011. This is not mere death metal. It sure as hell isn’t overly technical, or overly melodic, and whatever “djent” is, this ain’t it. This is occult metal ov death, and fans of Incantation, Mortuary Drape, Cruciamentum, Hooded Menace, Archgoat, Portal, Black Witchery, Mystifier, Order From Chaos, and all things dark and hateful should take note.
They’ve been trawling the depths of morbid death since 2001, but I first discovered this Teutonic horde a few years back, stumbling upon 2003’s Black Mass Desecration demo in some dusty corner and immediately falling under its plague-ridden spell. Witnessing their face-melting performance alongside Behexen and Koldbrann at 2009’s Hole In The Sky festival in Bergen, Norway clinched it for me – this band is something special. Many bands aim to invoke chaos and darkness, but Necros Christos achieve it. Christ-baiting lyrics and blasphemous incantations rise from the band’s interest in ancient religious texts, the Old Testament, and Gnostic theory – we’re not talking “Fucked With a Knife” here.
Blackened and doomy but unequivocally, uncompromisingly based in death fucking metal, Necros Christos have long been revered within underground circles. The band was originally a one-man operation, spawned by vocalist/guitarist Mors Dalos Ra, in Berlin, Germany and rising partly from the ashes of Drowned (now reformed!). Over the course of several demos and a few years’ time, a full lineup materialized, and the war machine began to turn in earnest. Bludgeoning necromantic doom live rituals and a morbid fixation upon the occult and the worship of true black/death metal art earned them the respect of many, and their incredibly solid, brutally memorable songwriting skills are unassailable. Their moody, mid-paced dirges seek to slowly remove hope and crush all life, rather than to artlessly pummel. The string of demos they’ve released since 2002 have long been tape-trader gold, and their splits with Spanish warmongers Teitanblood, American funeral doomers Loss, and UK deathcult Goat Molestor (now Grave Miasma) from 2005/2006 are now nearly impossible to find. However, given the prestige associated with the labels to whom they’ve entrusted their upcoming release, Mors Dalos Ra, The Evil N, Black Shepherd Ov Doom, and Mister Raelin may find themselves dragged out into the sunlight.
“The album recordings have been finished, the mix is taking shape by now. Expect the doom of mankind in early 2011 via Ván, Sepulchral Voice and The Ajna Offensive.”
Thus proclaims the band’s website, where is barely any other information available about this release besides that it has been in the works since early 2010 and was recorded at Sound From Below in Berlin, Germany. Given that they haven’t released anything since 2007’s debut full-length Triune Impurity Rites, the promise of a new album is enough to keep my interest piqued and impatience growing. There’s something to be said for being a bit mysterious, especially within the shadowy realms this band of Teutonic warriors inhabit.
Welcome to Golgotha. Welcome to total death.
-KK
Kim Kelly (or Grim Kim, if we’re being formal) scribbles for a number of sweet metal publications (Terrorizer, Brooklyn Vegan, Invisible Oranges, Hails & Horns, and tons more), promotes wicked records with Catharsis PR, and road dogs for your favorite bands. Keep up with her exploits & numerous band recommendations on Twitter, or peep her blog Ravishing Grimness.
