ALBUM REVIEW: Evil Damn – Necronomicon

Though active since 2003, Peruvian Death Metallers EVIL DAMN’s debut album has only just arrived to follow their sporadic discography of EP’s, splits and demos. This Lovecraftian monstrosity is due to be unleashed via Hells Headbangers Records on October 29th.

Brooding soundscapes begin our cosmic ascension in eerie fashion complete with incantations, certainly capturing the Lovecraftian theme while not overdoing it. Punchy riffs and towering drums fire into a monstrous conjuration of pure old school Death Metal with thrashing beats and ferocious guitars warping together alongside some powerful and vitriolic vocals. Like waves crashing against the skull, each blistering idea is a fluid continuation of the last while definitive in their own right as a piece of furious music. Diabolical savagery is in no short supply on this album as we see glorious lead work meet the frantic rhythmic battery and continually Evil Damn carve their own way in the paths of early Death Metal pioneers, blending tradition with innovative ideas to give us something that feels like a lost gem of the old school with plenty of their own eldritch ideas heavily imbued in the mix.

Blending rather primal and urgent sounding Death-Thrash with technicality (more in the vein of Gorguts and Morbid Angel than say Necrophagist), this music certainly has the frenzied manner of storytelling that many of HP Lovecraft’s tales utilise while giving those expansive and otherworldly tendrils space to musically grow with the more hostile technical contortions. The dense and weighty production is perfectly suited to the crushing array of astounding drum work that is a perfect backbone to this cosmic entity with inhuman, angular riffing that blends into convulsing leads and invocational vocals. Channeling the Great Ones into such extreme music always feels like the perfect meeting in theme, aesthetic and sound for me as proven time and time again, especially in the underground. Evil Damn certainly add a worthy angle on this and are a valuable asset to the world of Lovecraftian Death Metal.

From the more traditionally killer songs such as “Beast Of Ryleh” and “Darkness Will Remain” through to the over 12 minute opus that is the title track “Necronomicon” there is a consistent aggression and barbarity to their playing which hits hard while not being afraid to use nuance and skill to expand upon a given idea. Vanquishing any potential accusations of trendiness or derivativeness, Evil Damn take all of the essential elements of early and even proto-Death Metal and give it a sort of overhaul with their own creativity while never allowing that to cause the sacrifice of integrity. This is a band who are clearly devoted to the ways of tradition but do not fear or shy away from having a personality of their own. A howling cacophony of might and mystique that will grip anyone who takes Death Metal seriously with a triumphant blend of Lovecraftian eeriness, charnel despair and totally frenetic brutality that ties together into a well-woven dark tapestry of dread from the outer voids.

Innovative yet regressive in equal measure may seen like a complete oxymoron, but this is a superb example of how magnificently ancient Death Metal can have fluorescence injected without ruining the morbid feel of the music. “Y’ai ‘ng’ngah, Yog-Sothoth h’ee – l’geb f’ai throdog uaaah.“