Black Metal History Month - Necrowretch :" Swords of Dajjal"

 This French band has come out and said their 5th album is their most black metal yet, with only a few servings of death metal, so we are going to give it a shot. The first song had us excited as it was more nuanced with melodic guitar passages to contrast the charge of hateful vocals. It works as black metal. It is also so good it raised the expectations high for the rest of the album that follows. The second song is also black metal, but it is more focused on speed and aggression with none of the melodic embellishments until the end of the song. It is however made known that their drummer is a beast, but would you expect less from a band of their caliber. 

Then the album begins to turn in a more generic direction. Some of the more interesting moments tend to be due to production choices. A massive sound can make up for a great deal, as the drive of the drums The title track, finds the drums once again leading the charge perhaps with too much enthusiasm as the pace is almost rushed. When it is more accented on the verses things work before, but they default back to the speed. Most of the melodic moments circle the guitar solo on this song which feels like an easy way out. They prove on "Numidian Knowledge" that more deliberate equates to darker for them. These more intentional moments remind me of Dissection at times. 

'Vae Victus' starts off as a blast fest. It pretty much pours on the speed in an almost Deicide-like manner. Midway in things converge into more of a march. It ends with more of a death metal stomp, which is one of the album's rare lapses back into the genre. "Daeva" does show their more melodic side but is an instrumental that is under three minutes. "Total Obliteration" closes the album and lives up to the title. It is on the more thrashing side of black metal. They keep things in your face with an unrelenting intensity, but it is done in a manner that still acknowledges the need for songwriting. The vocals are less snarled and more aggressively shouted out, as the song unfolds.I  &nwill give this album an 8.5, it is really well done, I do not forsee this going down as one of the year's best black metal albums, but I do think this band made an impressive showing that fans should tkae notice of. bsp;

 

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