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NECRONOMICON
“UNLEASHED BASTARDS”
Album Review by Iron Mathew
10/10
Necronomicon are a thrash metal band from Germany formed in 1984 by singer/guitarist Volker ‘Freddy’ Fredrich. The band released it’s self titled debut album in 1986, quickly followed by ‘Apocalyptic Nightmare’ (1987) and ‘Escalation’ (1988). ‘Screams’ (1994) was the bands fourth album and was their last release before a ten year hiatus due to difficulties with record labels/management companies. Returning to the music scene in 2004, Necronomicon released their fifth album ‘Construction Of Evil’, placing the band at the forefront of the German thrash metal scene. The band have gone from strength to strength which each of their subsequent releases, ‘Revenge Of The Beast’ (2007), ‘Invictus’ (2012) and ‘Pathfinder… Between Heaven and Hell’ (2015). Necronomicon are regarded as one of the most exciting thrash metal bands to have emerged from Germany, with their ninth album ‘Unleashed Bastards’, due for release in autumn 2018.
The German style of thrash metal is well known for its fierce brutality and ferocious attitude, and with their new album, Necronomicon deliver fifty one minutes of stunning savagery…a savagery only thrash masters Kreator can better. The album explodes into life with the lively and feisty ‘Burn And Fall’. Fast paced and full on, ‘Burn And Fall’ is head bangingly addictive thrash metal that will get heads frantically nodding back and forth at an extremely high rate. A breathless opening is quickly followed by the even faster paced ‘Leave The Lights On’. Rampaging harder and faster than a stampeding herd of wild rhino’s, ‘Leave The Lights On’ is also very catchy and a definite “wow” moment off the album, of which there are many… The pace of the album is incredible, get out of the way Kreator, here comes Necronomicon! ‘Total Rejection’ sets a scorching pace as it scurries along at high velocity, more thunderous than the opening two songs, yet just as brutal. Get some bandages ready, you’re gonna need them after the savage battering Necronomicon is unleashing. A more menacing vibe appears as ‘Malevolent’ chillingly creeps in and then bish, bash, bosh, you’re hit with some seriously fierce riffage as ‘Malevolent’ picks up pace and races of at high speed. At over six minutes in length ‘Malevolent’ is by far and away the longest song on offer and is a majestic epic, similar in style to Metallica’s ‘Creeping Death’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’.
The electrifying pace shows no sign of abatement as ‘We Did We Do’ furiously explodes into life and runs amok. This is thrash metal of the highest order, and is the best I’ve heard since Testament’s ‘Brotherhood Of The Snake’ almost two years ago. At just three minutes in length, ‘Imperial’ is a quick, fiery blast of anthemic thrash metal. The chorus, a cracking sing a long style chant, will have the audience in a live arena screaming “imperial” at the tops of their voices. A slow menacing intro breaths terrifying life into ‘My Name Is Vengeance’, as it lurches forward, maintaining the albums exhilarating speed. Necronomicon have been around the thrash metal scene for well over thirty years, and are just as hungry now as they have ever been. The album takes on a much heavier feel as ‘Forbid Me From Living’ storms into sight and steams ahead with an aggressive purpose. Hitting harder than a mass of wrecking balls, ‘Forbid Me From Living’ will crush anything and anyone foolish enough to stand in its way.
The pace, power and energy oozing from this album is simply stunning. ‘Unleashed Bastards’ is an adrenaline pumping thrill ride, a ride that cracks on with ‘Unleashed’, a much more “heavy metal” song that any other on offer. Nodding its head towards the classic, and traditional sound of heavy metal, ‘Unleashed’ stands tall astride the border of the thrash and heavy metal genres. Blisteringly fast paced thrash metal returns in the almighty shape of ‘Religion Live Fast’. As the album hurtles toward a conclusion, the pace is just getting quicker, with ‘Personal Enemy’ a high velocity, high speed, furious foray. ‘Unleashed Bastards’ is an exhilarating album, jam packed with full on thrash metal of the most brutal nature you’re ever likely to hear. The final hurrah is the fastest and most breath taking song the album has to offer… ‘The Nightmare Continues’ is everything you could ever want from a thrash metal song, it has pace, power and thunder, and is a superb end to a superb album.
Overall, an exhilarating and breathless album of fast paced, high velocity, fierce and fiery thrash metal.
TRACKLIST
Burn And Fall
Leave The Lights On
Total Rejection
Malevolent
We Did We Do
Imperial
My Name Is Vengeance
Forbid Me From Living
Unleashed
Religion Live Fast
Personal Enemy
The Nightmare Continues
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