Necro Deathmort – Music Of Bleak Origin (Distraction Records)
If one were forced to come up with the most blatant heavy metal band name possible, the type that would alert a listener immediately as to what the band in question sounded like without a note ever having to be played, one could do a lot worse than Necro Deathmort. Two words, three references to some concept of shuffling off this mortal coil (in three languages no less). More metal than a steel mill, one would presume. And it’s not that this presumption would be wrong exactly, but it definitely wouldn’t be right either. Music Of Bleak Origin is, as is stated in no uncertain terms, a dour affair – heavy even, by most standards. But to lump it in with heavy metal proper misses the mark.
Necro Deathmort – Music Of Bleak Origin (Distraction Records)
If one were forced to come up with the most blatant heavy metal band name possible, the type that would alert a listener immediately as to what the band in question sounded like without a note ever having to be played, one could do a lot worse than Necro Deathmort. Two words, three references to some concept of shuffling off this mortal coil (in three languages no less). More metal than a steel mill, one would presume. And it’s not that this presumption would be wrong exactly, but it definitely wouldn’t be right either. Music Of Bleak Origin is, as is stated in no uncertain terms, a dour affair – heavy even, by most standards. But to lump it in with heavy metal proper misses the mark.
There are two primary types of songs on the album: those that start with churning doom metal dirge before allowing electronic elements to force their way in among the clamor, and those that start with glitchy, broken-beat electronics that are quickly subsumed by layers of distorted guitar and tortured vocals. While Necro Deathmort’s two methods of conveying their aesthetic are not exactly at cross purposes, there’s enough variation that a listener is hard-pressed not to choose sides, and the more metallic parts of the album tend to win out.
When the electronic elements are more up-to-date, they’re an extremely satisfying counterpoint to the abrasive edge of the heavier components of the sound, though over the album’s course these elements prove to be the exception rather than the rule. A song like “Devastating Vector” leads off with an industrial-tinged dubstep beat that possesses an ebbing and flowing intensity, gaining and shedding layers of sound over the song’s course without sacrificing its grim atmosphere. “Blizzard,” the following song, is more of an indication of where Necro Deathmort’s sound goes wrong, however. Featuring a quicker pace and some squelchy synthesizers, the song sounds more like the sort of bottom of the barrel late-90s industrial metal that provided the sonic backdrop for so many terrible action movies of the era. Similarly, “For Your Own Good” starts out with a sort of bad-trip take on microhouse before sinking under the weight of half-baked Trent Reznorisms. It’s a difficult trap to avoid when combining metallic and electronic elements, and unfortunately it’s one the band falls victim to on several occasions.
The heavier segments tend to fare better, however, though they occur less frequently. “In Binary” leads off with the sort of muted drum beat that wouldn’t be out of place on a Low album, before launching into a dirge more akin to Burning Witch. As the song progresses, effects-smothered vocals and sweeping synthesizers push their way upwards through the mix before the song dissolves into swaths of noise. “Überlord” sounds not unlike some imaginary William Basinski/Sunn 0))) hybrid, with towering drone-doom guitars run through such intense signal processing that each note sounds as if different frequencies are flaking off with each second that it sustains. But even the heavier songs aren’t always a success. “The Heat Death Of Everything,” the closest to a straightforward metal song on the album, calls to mind the legions of sub-par doom metal bands that have popped up in recent years. These bands are capable of little more than plodding along aimlessly, reliant on small fortunes’ worth of amplifiers rather than actual song-writing ability. The song only gets interesting when the guitars and drums drop out, leaving the harsh vocals to echo dub-style across dark ambient textures.
Music Of Bleak Origin can be a frustrating album at times. The good parts are exceptional, calling to mind both the more experimental end of the metal spectrum (the corner occupied by Godflesh and Nadja) and the harsher, more aggressive strains of electronic music from the past few years (Vex’d and Distance come to mind). But the unsuccessful moments are far more prevalent, and these songs are the type of bad that raises questions, likely ones that the band doesn’t want to hear. How long can any genre predicate itself solely on the ingestion of familiar aesthetic signifiers? Is 90s nostalgia warranted if it’s going to be responsible for music that could’ve been featured on the soundtrack to the live action Mortal Kombat movie? Is “doomstep” the new crunk screamo? Inquiring minds may not want to know, but questions can’t be un-asked.
