Black Metal, the truest of the true, or at least in my mind anyway. The early Norwegian days of the 90’s were a breeding ground for the true and false debate. To my knowledge prior to that Metalheads simply accepted new styles as ‘interesting’ or ‘different’ as oppose to hating on evolution. Yet with the first days of Black Metal a divide was created, a manufactured mindset that is now twisted and contorted to suit each individual. Alas I have let my elitism go, it simply isn’t worth it. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to go out and buy a load of Limp Bizkit records it just means that I now live by the age of ideal of ‘if I like it, I like it’.
Today’s artist in question however are clearly purveyors of the perverse and the kvlt. Portugal’s own Alcoholocaust (fantastic name) are a Black Thrash Metal assault that aim to desecrate our senses with Necro Apocalipse Bestial the band’s debut release put out through Helldprod Records. The bands history however is long having formed in 2005 and releasing demos periodically throughout the remaining years, it has clearly taken the band sometime to release this debut effort which is undoubtedly anticipated by the bands existing fanbase.
Opening number Solução Abismal is Thrash heavy in its guitars and pestilential Black Metal through its vocals. Yet all of this is delivered with a Punk attitude and general musk which makes it a dirty track full of disgust and rusty little hooks which keep us hungry for more. Speed Metal Tornado is a perfect testament to the bands Punk ethos taking the always pleasing subject of writing songs about the scene. The song is a somewhat anthemic crusher that continues to keep us amid this Blackened storm. After a bit of a lull in quality are attention is soon grasped again by perhaps the best track on the album Anti-Gótico which due to its catchy lyrical patterns sees us go into the second half of the album with great intrigue.
Indeed the quality is upheld through the equally catchy Necro Ritual which is annoyingly almost as good as its predecessor. I say annoyingly because musically the album is incredibly generic cookie cutter Black Thrash. Yet somehow the band are able to keep everything afloat via strong lyrical content and choruses. Anti-Sóbrio and Assalto Metálico finish off the album with similar might and make the second portion of the album the better half overall. This level of hook heavy Black Thrash may be nothing new but it sure packs a punch and is sure to get stuck in the listeners head.
So all in all Necro Apocalipse Bestial is just another Black Thrash album. It’s generic, predictable and downright stagnant as far as musical progression goes, but I like it. The saying ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it’ comes to mind, rather than reinventing the wheel Alcoholocaust just do what they love and they do it well. If you’re new to Black Thrash then this is an exceptional example of worship and the general themes found within the genre, a perfect building block for newcomers. As for existing fans of the genre there is still enjoyment to be had. I could rant and rave about all the negative points behind this release, from generic ideals to riffs but they would all be based upon my pre-existing knowledge as oppose to taking the album at face value, alas I’m forced to score it accordingly.
(7/10 George Caley)
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