NECRODEATH
NECRODEATH “Singin’ In the Pain”
By Dr. Abner Mality
No, the album is not a tribute to Gene Kelly. Rather, it’s inspired by Anthony Burgess’ novel “A Clockwork Orange” and the subsquent Kubrick movie based on it. SEPULTURA also did a concept album based on it called “A-Lex”. Alright, my droogies, let’s step into the ultraviolence…
Italy’s NECRODEATH have been around for a dog’s age and never really broken through to international acceptance. I don’t think this album will change that, but their tenacity can’t be denied. They play a quirky style of thrash metal with odd angular riffs, peculiar timings and the occasional burst of dissonant melody. It’s not an “instant” style and requires a lot of attention. For me, it never breaks through to something devastating, yet you stick with it and get some rewards.
The “Clockwork Orange” theme is very prevalent and almost every track has some narration in the weird Droog-slang of Burgess’ novel. The very first song “Gang Fight” sets up NECRODEATH’s odd, nervous style mixing a kind of German thrash with VOI VOD style weirdness. The sneering vocals of Flegias remind me of Tom from SODOM and are a good match for the subject matter. The most purely thrashing tracks are “Redemperdition” and “655321” which are refreshingly straightforward while other tunes like “Transformer Treatment” and “Delicious Milk Plus” are more restless and experimental. Final track “Antihero” puts it all together in a solid package.
I don’t think NECRODEATH will ever get much higher than they are now and I can understand why, yet there’s much to admire with the dogged way they soldier on…