Necrophagous are a Swedish death metal band. What if I told you that the line up of the band was comprised of dudes that used to be members of the mighty Entrails? Featuring Tommy Carlsson (Visceral Bleeding, ex-Entrails) – Vocals & Guitar, Jocke Svensson (ex-Entrails) – Bass and Martin Michaelsson (ex-Entrails) – Drums. You’ve got an idea of what they sound like, right? Super fuzzy Entombed-esque old school death metal, right?
Wrong.
I was sure I knew what I’d be getting from this, but I was proven to be very, very mistaken. “In Chaos Descend” is indeed a death metal album, but one of the more obscure, clear and razor sharp American variety. To be honest, I was pretty surprised on giving this a first listen. It’s much less Dismember and much more Morbid Angel. In fact, the nearest example I can give is to their Floridian forebears, as the album has some of that serpentine writhing and off-kilter approach that makes their material so good. This is essentially a technical but still pulverising death metal album in the vein of classics like “Formulas Fatal to the Flesh” and “Gateways to Annihilation” – that is to say that this is treading in the footsteps of Tucker-era Morbid Angel, and is all the better for it.
Don’t believe me? Give “At Dawn Thee Immolate a whizz round your old lug-holes. Coming on like “Nothing is Not: Part 2” is not a bad thing. This bad boy has all the cold fury that you’d expect, but with some downright thick pounding slower sections that really batter your skull. The title track is probably the closest that the three piece ever get to their old outfit, with the intro having some of that scuzzy feel, before the riffs take a somewhat more horrific turn. In a world where every third band wants to re-record “Left Hand Path”, it’s gratifying that there’s still plenty of invention left in the genre. So sure, “In Chaos Descend” may have some debts to their stateside brethren, there’s enough of their own personality to shine through. “Horns of Seven”, for instance, has a cool driving rhythm and the kind of drum work that would make skin-bashing nerds reach involuntary climax. I defy anyone not to listen to this absolute monster of a track without wanting to nod their head in a most vigorous fashion.
At eleven tracks, this doesn’t outlive its welcome, having a healthy regard for the listener by taking a trip through some oblique and confusing soundscapes carved from sheer riffery. In terms of production, this is some sterile yet dangerous stuff; the vocals are really effective, their hoarse commands layered over the scything guitars.
Truly, unexpected and top tier stuff. Nice one.
(9/10 Chris Davison)
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