ALBUM REVIEW: Nekromantheon – Visions of Trismegistos

Norwegian Black-Thrash Metal butchers NEKROMANTHEON are back with their 3rd album. Set for release via Hells Headbangers Records and Indie Recordings on April 30th.

Cymbals crash and guitars roar as melodic leads erupt atop the volcanic introduction before whammy dives deliver us into a speeding inferno of extremity. Maniacal vocals complete the thrashing insanity with a rupturing savagery that is on display from the entire band taking us back to the glory days of Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Slayer and more. The monolithic guitar work and drums work gloriously together with the triumphant vocals to ensure a blistering and sharp experience is to be had by all Metal maniacs who dare delve into the realms of ancient violence. It seems we will only hear their most fantastically barbaric ideas on this record, which is definitely ideal. Storming forth, these Nordic hordes deliver some utterly magnificent necromantic rites with all of the thrashing rage and blackened mysticism one could ask for.

Sadistically aggressive and bestial energies run rampant as the consistent and unwieldy Black-Thrash attack does not cease. Conjuring demonic and abyssal visions in their wake of destruction, this is exactly the kind of material Norway has proved among the best at delivering, one only needs to blast the likes of Deathhammer, Condor, Evoke, Toxik Death and so on to be shown how Black-Thrash should be done. Primal and blasphemous yet with plentiful musical ability to concoct the most evil sounds is the way these guys deliver the most vicious material and they do so to grandiose effect with boundless energy.

Between diving whammy bar solos that would make the Slayer axemen proud to vitriolic blasting drums, crushing riffs and gut-wrenching vocals, this record does not slow down or falter, nor does it get boring. The untamed might of this feral trio seemingly is a demon which will not be harnessed easily, breaking from its chains to offer us tornados of vicious Metal carnage. With all of this said, I must add that there is dynamic in tone and occasionally tempo, these guys have more than one trick with their more eerie atmospherics on the start of tracks like “Scorched Death” while the raging bangers like “Faustian Rites” and “Dead Temples” are some of the most blisteringly, high-octane bouts of action you will hear. This record may generally stay in the higher speed range, but it does so with graceful skill and passion, not a lack of diversity in ideas.

A ripping slab of pure speeding madness that is violent, chaotic and yet razor-sharp in its delivery of total barbarity. Fans of Black-Thrash will certainly adore this cut of ancient evil, as will just about anybody who takes Extreme Metal seriously. While innovation may not be the name of the game, who cares when the result is this magnificent. Pure old school Heavy Metal (with a serving of Black, Thrash and Speed violence) that is not bound by genre or trend, only the high-speed pursuit of mayhem.