Black Metal History Month- Necrofier : "Transcend Into Oblivion"

Texas black metal outfit Necrofier plays a ravenous-sounding yet straightforward style of black metal. The scream vocals are filled with wrath, and they are not just riding blast beats, which makes the album worth my time. The second part of "Fires of the Apocalypse" is more blasting but balanced with a creepy melody, here and there. Many of the songs are a trilogy of three parts; it's extravagant, but better than 20-minute songs. Most feel like they are their own entity anyway. The third part of "Fires of the Apocalypse" does not really wane from the rabid bite displayed on the first two songs. Some more deliberate riffs darken the skies. 

They get the first part of "Servants of Darkness, Guide My Way" off to a good start; it is ominous in tone enough for me, though it descends into a blast beat that is a more predictable turn for this sort of thing. The second part is not as nuanced and finds the anger consumed to the point of making it something that is catchy enough to draw you back into it, even when they break things down into the acoustic guitar outro. The more sonic throb of the third part works the best in terms of mood building. There is more dynamic contrast when the drums begin to build the storm under it. 

The first part of "Lift My Blade" is pretty typical black metal being expelled with little in the way of experimentation. There is more of that which increases the creepiness of the second part without sacrificing too much of the intensity. The last track, "Toward the Necrofier" is cool, and I wish they incorporated more of these sounds earlier in the album. I will give this one an 8.5, because it captures a convincing mood, even if it is not hte most original thing I have heard, they succeeded in what they were doing. Out on Metal Blade Records February 27th

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