Incarcerated - Necrosphere ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
- Jay
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
FOR FANS OF: CORONER, AT THE GATES, THE HAUNTED
THRASH-O-METER
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ SONGWRITING
★★★★★★★☆☆☆ LONGEVITY
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ THEMES
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ PRODUCTION
★★★★★★★☆☆☆ MUSICIANSHIP
★★★★★★★★☆☆ CHARACTER
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ THRASHABILITY
Forgettable name and a cover that reeks of AI at a distance. I gave it a spin... and another. Now I’ve had this sh!t on at least once a day for the past week.
Riff-driven death metal debut with a thrash-like bounce to it. I can dig it! Going further, it took me a while to pinpoint why this hit so hard with 'em old feelsies: few of us old geezers remember such a thing as "Göteborg sound", meaning melodic death metal coming specifically from Göteborg, Sweden, back in the 90s. That might be more apt than any other way to describe this thing as a whole.
Fatal Fate kicks things off with a pretty complete snapshot of what follows: a twisting chuggathon built for mid-tempo mayhem, topped with harrowing vocals which are pleasantly articulate as they are credible. Thematically we're chomping down into societal grievances and commenting on the blankness of our modern existence.
If there's a defining feature to the album its that the songs simply don't have A, B or C sections, they've got J, N and Q sections, too. And Ö and Ä.
Song DNA is... unfolding endlessly
The songs seem to contort endlessly, but the snap of the thrash keeps this from veering too deep into progsh!t - that, and the plain death metal stubbornness.
Incarcerated isn't afraid to give the lead guitars proper leeway in the form of lodestrian melodics rather than semblances of shreddage. 'Necrosphere' carries itself with a notable dead-serious focus which does put a bit of a strain on listening this in one go.
Hail, heritage!
There’s a kind of innocence and earnestness here that makes this sh!t almost time-capsuled. The fellas are pulling same sort of stunts that bands were up back in the day.
The sound, however, might be the biggest reason this is feels so familiar. The album was ultimately put together by Flemming Rasmussen, famous for shaping Metallica’s 80s era records, and stuff for acts like Artillery and Morbid Angel, so that pedigree probably has a lot to do with it. This is a independent release but its been duct taped together by pros - that said, there's a kind of weakness to the sound that lacks dynamism and detail.
Its been butt rolled flat
I kept coming back to 'Necrosphere' in a specific way: it’s an album that pays off in bursts scattered across the runtime. Song lengths swing from near seven minutes to the classic three. Short tracks ain't "singles" any more than they are "mood pieces". Taking few steps back and looking this thing as a whole it seems pretty invariable on the surface. But, this thing is an atmosphere record through and through - granted that that atmosphere can bite your face off!
While the songs do evolve in satisfying ways the downside is that the songwriting feels secondary to having sh!t change constantly. Songs bleed together and there really aren't any standout pieces in that traditional sense that you're eager to replay over and over.
THAT DISCLAIMER AT THE END
February has been rather bad in regards of new and decent thrash metal albums - fortunately I have some stuff in line from January!
