Nekromantheon is a band that I've completely missed out of up 'til now. I didn't catch their set at the 2010 Live Evil Fest in London and had not heard any of their material. So with reviewers praising this album as a timeless classic, I felt like I might be missing out on something. Needless to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised when I got the chance to get into this material via reviewing their debut album Divinity of Death.
Similarly as At War sounds like a couple of teenagers who'd only ever heard Motörhead and Venom (along with watching some old horror movies), Nekromantheon is heavily influenced, well mostly by Slayer (with bits and pieces from Venom, Possessed, Dark Angel and Sepultura thrown in). One thing is clear; Slayer's the word; early Slayer - Hell Awaits, Show No Mercy. Very ‘king retro Thrash!
I would go as far as saying that what we got here is a worship band. For me this usually means that I better keep my distance as it’ll be total shit anyways (as is the case of so many Hellhammer worship bands). So what makes this different? Well, Nekromantheon do a damn good job at what they do! They don’t pretend to invent anything new, simply following on the same road as Slayer and some of the other thrash/speed metal bands of the eighties did! And… somehow they manage to not sound completely obsolete and boring. Vomiting thunderous riff after riff, generic thrash solo after the other, with spot on leads bursting from their pants, all this accompanied with a stripped down eighties sound that suits the music perfectly! Vocals are a mix of Slayer and Venom, some T.G.Warrior in there too! Clocking at half-an-hour, the album is also a very good length (having 11 tracks on it!).
Despite the fact that there are moments of ripping off Slayer and a bunch of other speed metal bands of the olden days, Nekromantheon’s debut is an immensely satisfying listen. This is what the thrash boom should’ve been about. It’s not like Thrash is a genre known for its inspiration and creative edge, it should be about the feel that it has to it. It's no party thrash bullshit, instead it gives you the feeling their doing it for the sole purpose of paying tribute to old school thrash and having a blast whilst at it. No it's not an absolute, groundbreaking masterpiece that deserves global super-stardom as a few reviews have said. Just listen to it, the album stands on its own and soon makes you forget that nothing new is at hand here. Put simply: it’s a really enjoyable and strong release that manages to stand on its own, despite obvious influences from masters of old!
http://www.myspace.com/nekromantheon
