Review: Necrot Carry on the Death Metal Legacy with Lifeless Birth

In one week’s time, death metal adherents Necrot will unleash their newest full-length album Lifeless Birth on the masses. As their their follow up to Mortal and their first new release in four years, it may not break a ton of new ground in the genre, but it does a great job pushing their trajectory forward.

Produced by Grammy-winning producer Greg Wilkinson and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, this record was handled by the best, and it shows on the awesome production. You can truly hear every note and riff on this release, and that makes a big difference with the quality of a death metal record.

Each track on the record stands out as a brutal death behemoth heavy bass lines, plenty of riffs and solos, and, of course, blast beats. From the first notes of “Cut the Cord” kicking the record off, you’ll be sucked into the death metal furry. It’s followed swiftly with the title track, which is probably the catchiest and riffiest song on the record.

Throughout, each song is solid and heavy, as well as catchy as hell. The band certainly don’t break new ground here, as this is brutal and catchy old-school death at its finest. “Drill the Skull” pulls in some doomy elements, but it still fits in perfectly with the rest of the record and their catalogue. And “Winds of Hell,” my favorite track from the record, is the most melodically influenced, but still a great example of the band’s work.

Still, despite this, the record overall is solid and incredibly well done, and there aren’t really many gripes to be had. It would be nice to get a bit more experimentation or a few surprises, but ultimately, a band this good at what they do can get away without pulling out any surprises,

The album ends on a strong note with eight minutes of doomy death in the form of “The Curse.” It’s the perfect way to wind down this powerful record. This is definitely a contender for death metal album of the year, even though it isn’t as unique as some other records that have already been or will be released. They’re just that good at doing what they do best.

Necrot’s Lifeless Birth will be available next Friday, April 12, via Tankcrimes. Preorder your copy today.