When I saw Baests latest offering, ‘Necro Sapiens’ on the review list I was falling over myself to put pen to paper and scribe my request for the opportunity to critique it, especialy as I had dissected their previous release, ‘Venenum’, which was an absolute monster to say the least. ‘Necro Sapiens’ is the culmination of a trilogy of releases, in as many years, and they don’t take their foot off the gas, or tire, through the behemoth workload they have delivered, if anything they have become even more brutal and solid with time.
‘The Forge’ gets the party started and is brief yet menacing in its body. It’s the perfect segment from which to launch full throttle into ‘Genesis’. ‘Genesis’ is mid-tempo compared to a lot of the other tracks on the album and even has melodic facets sprinkled throughout, that is until the riffs decide that enough is enough and they tighten up the vessel and create a quicker and sharper edge to the track. Olsen’s vocals are crushing and powerful, commanding and authoritative with each line being delivered with passion and belief which keeps the direction on course amidst all of the brawn and brutality being liberated by the rest of the band.
It’s the turn of the title track next and this lives up to the expected job of delivering a bruising, dominant and memorable performance. It holds a certain groove to its air and there are harmonies a plenty which are melodic and catchy, even verging on the side of a future live anthem for the band.
‘Czar’ carries on with the proceedings and is out and out death metal, intertwining old school death metal with tinges of more modern death metal slabs with which to bang your head. Abildsten is worthy of particular praise on this track as he seems to be pounding his kit with the vigour and energy of a crazed Tasmanian devil. This is paramount as it is this commanding presence which seems to allow the other fragments of the Baest machine to hook onto and become employed for the ride.
‘Abattoir’ starts with some more mesmerising work from Abildsten in the form of an impressive drum solo before it goes into the main body of the track and demonstrates their skill to interject some variety into their repertoire. ‘Abattoir’ switches between groove, which will have you taping your toe and bobbing your head, before the riffs inject the pace and then the blast beats which adds some more spice to the track. All this keeps changing and morphing to keep you on your toes and not let you become too stale with just the same old style throughout
‘Goregasm’ drags major influence from some of the Swedish death metal juggernauts and it delivers death metal which will absolutely crush and pummel you almost into submission. It is heavy with masterful bass lines from Melchiorsen and some lavish and tantalising 6 string work from the dual attack of Revsbech and Karlsson. Each seeming to tease and tantalise the 4 string beast to deliver heavier and meatier bass riffs as the track progresses. Abildsten also delivers some crunching drum beats which partners the bass beautifully in order to create the meaty and compressing back bone to the track.
The back end of the album is presented with a quartet of absolute barbaric leviathans. ‘Meathook Massacre’ is a wild and untamed creature, the speed which is exhibited on this track is probably the quickest we have seen the Baest machine exude so far, and it seems fitting that we see some speed to try to satisfy the lighter side of the death metal spectrum amidst all this heavy and callous sound scape
‘Sea Of Vomit’ closes the album and closes it in style. Each member of the band seems to step it up in order to prove their worth before the album closes, and they have lost any chance of showing their wares to the world. The vocals are gnarly and crunching, the drums are relentless and a powerhouse of a facet are the strings, whether they are 4 or 6, they certainly are enchanting and captivating in their deliverance. All this together creates a euphoric and charismatic soul to this death metal powerhouse, a true accomplishment and victory in its own right.
If ‘Venenum’ was a high speed waltzer at the local fairground then ‘Necro Sapiens’ is the guy who has just come up behind your waltzer car and has given you another massive, no holds barred, hold onto your lunch spin into next week.
(9/10 Phil Pountney)
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