NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS

I have many forbidden books in my private library…”Justine” by Marquis De Sade, “Malleus Maleficarum” by Heinrich Kramer, “Cherry Poptart” by…I have no idea. But perhaps the most dangerous book is the one bound in human skin, the “Necronomicon Ex Mortis”, which acts as a gateway to hell itself. It is the most infamous book of all time.

In Chicago, the book inspired the name for a grisly new death/thrash metal monstrosity known as…what else?...NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS. These guys have been working at a furious pace the last several years, whipping up a never ending stream of EP’s, Splits and Demos featuring their horror-soaked musical insanity. The latest is “Zombie Blood Nightmare”, which you’re probably not going to find at the local Best Buy.

Michael Bala is the band’s guitar maestro and guiding force. Well, last week I headed into the torture dungeon of ANTAGONIZOR. There’s no rest for the wicked because this week I travel to a dismal cabin the woods to talk to Mr. Bala about NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS…

WORMWOOD CHRONICLES: Greetings and hails to you! Let me start by asking you what bit you first…the interest in horror or the “metal bug”?

MICHAEL BALA: Well, I was first shown horror when I saw “Halloween IV” at roughly 5 years old. The love for metal came a few years later when my dad showed me IRON MAIDEN’s “Live After Death.” I was about 10 or 11 when I heard that album. 

WC: You guys are a pretty new outfit. Do you have prior experience in other bands or is N.E.M. your first major band? How did you all come together?

MB: I played guitar and wrote songs in a different death metal band called “BLOODFEAST RITUAL.” It was a really good experience, but life sent me down a different path and now I obsess about how many references to Bruce Campbell I can crowbar into my songs. Hail to the king, baby. 

WC: I detect a lot of thrash metal influence in your songwriting. Do you consider yourself purely death metal or do you see yourself as thrash?

MB: I’ve seen some outlets refer to us as “death-thrash” and I’m not disappointed about it. Truthfully, I consider NEM to have a base somewhere in melodic(ish) death metal, and we can plug in other influences when the situation calls for it. We dabbled in adding black metal elements (“Salem’s Lot”), mid temp BOLT THROWER style (“Misery”), and even some vaguely doom-y moments (“Jason Lives”). Sometimes the songs are thrashy, sometimes they’re melodic, sometimes they’re technical, sometimes they’re just a stream of consciousness. The specific subgenres can be fun to talk about, but at the end of the day it’s all just the same band seeing what combo works best for the song.

WC:  One thing that stands out about N.E.M is the shredding, almost neoclassical guitar solos. Who are some of the shredders that influenced this part of your sound?

 MB: I could talk about guitar and my love of the 80s players all day. Picking just a handful of guitarists won’t be easy, but I can narrow it down to a top 10. In no particular order, I’d say the main shreddy influences are: Christian Muezner, Michael Romeo, John Petrucci, Jeff Loomis, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Yngwie Malmsteen, and George Lynch. Honorable mentions go to Andy Larocque, Alexi Laiho, and Joe Stump. 

WC:  I see you got Jeff Young of MEGADETH fame to contribute a solo! How did this collaboration come about? 

MB: One of my good friends and the recording/mixing engineer/producer of all our music, the illustrious Charlie Waymire of Ultimate Studios, gave me a call one day and told me that Jeff Young was coming in for a session. I immediately begged Charlie to ask Jeff if he could listen to a few of our tunes and contribute some solos if he was interested. Having Jeff play on our songs is seriously an honor; it’s not every day you get to capture a piece of heavy metal history. 

WC:The band has been doing a lot of EPs and splits. Are there any imminent plans to do a full length or do you just prefer to do smaller releases?

MB:I am anxiously awaiting the day we do an album; that’s still my favorite medium to deliver music. However, we do indeed live in modern times, and modern times seem to prefer smaller releases in quick succession. So, the plan is a few more small releases where we can experiment with the music, do some light touring, and then (hopefully) jump to a label when it comes time for the actual debut album. We’re not far from that day, but before then, we still have a few surprises left for the audience. 

WC:  Now let’s talk about your horror inspirations! Obviously “Evil Dead” is a huge one. Would the band as a whole say this is your fave horror film?

MB: “Evil Dead” is my favorite movie franchise of all time. I love all of them, including the TV series. Each movie revels in its own individuality, so none of them feel exactly the same. 

The rest of the band has a more casual interest in horror, but they seem to like more of the modern stuff. I love all eras of horror, but I definitely seem to gravitate to movies of the 60s, 70s, and 80s more so than most of the things released in the last few years. 

WC:  Do you get any inspiration from horror stories and novels? If so, who are your favorite authors and stories?

MB: Absolutely. Novels, video games, comics; all things horror seem to find their way into the songs. As for authors, I’ve been very into John Everson lately. His books are a very smooth read; comfortable and difficult to put down. The first one I read was called “House by the Cemetery” (no relation to the movie) and it was fantastic. Heartbreaking in the exact right way, but fantastic. 

WC: The lyrical inspiration seems to be typical stuff like the Romero zombie films, “Evil Dead”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. These are pretty well worn tropes…can you see the band stretching out and coming up with its own terror tales?

MB:We actually have made a few attempts at original stories, albeit not nearly as much as pre-established horror media. “The Swamp” (and its sequel “Unspeakable Swamp Creature”) are both original stories, as well as “Crypt of the Gorilla God”. This is something we would love to continue with; but sometimes showing love to my favorite horror movies is too tempting. 

WC:Has the band played live much? If so, what’s been the most memorable gig so far?

MB: Truthfully, we need to build a live line up. The band is scattered all over North America, but for obvious reasons that has made the live aspect quite difficult. (HINT HINT) This is something we are going to change in 2026. 

WC: You come from the great Chicago metal scene, home of bands like MACABRE, CARDIAC ARREST, USURPER and more. Have you interacted with the local scene much and who are some of your Chi-town favorite bands? 

MB: The Chicago scene is great, and the bands are really supportive of one another. The band I’ve been really excited about is ARRHYTHMIA. Cool dudes, catchy tunes, and the drummer is freakishly tall. 

WC: Could you see yourselves doing a concept album that tells one continuous horror Epic?

MB: Something just like that may be in the works right now…let’s just say that as excited as I am for an album, the benefit of smaller releases is the ability to try new things without fully jumping in the pool. We have such sights to show you.

WC: What was the last band you caught live?

MB: It was either SYMPHONY X or DYING FETUS; I’m not sure which one was technically first or last but they were only a few weeks apart. That being said, the next concert I’ve got lined up is OPETH, and I’m very excited for that. It’ll be my 4th time for them. 

WC: If you could have dinner with any three people in history, who would they be? 

MB: The first pick is Allan Holdsworth; I’d love to listen to him explain the way he approached harmony and music. That man was a mad scientist and listening to him pulls the hair up on the back of my neck every time. 

Maybe this is obvious for a metal fan, but the second choice has to go to Alexi Laiho from CHILDREN OF BODOM. “Hate Crew Deathroll” was one of the first 3 death metal albums I ever bought, and Alexi had a huge impact on the way I view song writing and lead playing. I genuinely feel the need to thank him for being a cornerstone of the soundtrack to my youth. 

And speaking of thanking someone we all owe at least part of influence to: Eddie Van Halen takes the 3rd spot. The man changed electric guitar and rock music forever. He set the blue print for how players approached the instrument all throughout the 80s; the very decade I listen to the most. 

Getting these guys together to talk about guitar would be the most incredible yet intimidating dinner of my life. Also, if catering is an option, Red Hot Ranch here in Chicago makes the best burgers. 

WC: Has NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS ever had a “Spinal Tap” moment where things go wrong that you could share with us? 

MB: It’s not funny like Spinal Tap, but when we were recording “The Mother of Death” we all got violently sick. I’m talking sleep all day, can’t breathe, constant headache type of sick. Recording was M I S E R A B L E for about 4 days. Worst part? Our bass player snores like a hibernating bear, and we stayed in a house with thin walls. 

WC:  Any last words for the Necro-fiends out there?

MB: To any fans and all those that may check out the music; thank you. It’s insanely cool that you guys seem to dig what we’ve got going on, and it’s very, VERY appreciated. More music is always around the corner, and until then, go check out some old Hammer Horror movies. They’ve really got those perfect gothic vibes that make every night feel like October regardless of what time of year it actually is. 

NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS