February 2021 Feature Release – The Horde Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Horde is the brand new tenth album from Dutch death metal stalwarts Asphyx entitled "Necroceros". Asphyx have been one of the more consistent performers in the extreme metal scene over the years so I'll be surprised if they don't deliver yet another high quality slab of doomy old school death metal with this one.

https://metal.academy/releases/25893

Reviewed this without knowledge it was featured (not been about much admittedly) so was a timely review.  The issue I have in the main is Leverman's mix and the large amount of filler on display.  Not a terrible record by any means but heavily front-loaded and I expected better.

Not a bad record by any means, but for a band who's back catalogue includes Last One On Earth and The Rack I've got to admit to being more than a little disappointed by this fairly rote death metal release which lacks sufficient "bite" for my preference.

Massive snoozefest for me, plus the raspy vocal style isn't something I'm particularly fond of, comes off as a bit weak sounding for the most part. There were a few decent songs like "Mount Skull" and "The Nameless Elite" but this is definitely just another Death Metal record in my opinion, not too much reason to go back to it. And Necroceros loses out to the other standard Death Metal albums I've had recently like Frozen Soul's Crypt of Ice (Highly recommend!), or even Omegavortex and Necrot from last year. Just some run of the mill stuff here sadly. 

"Necroceros" is a more than decent example of old school death metal in my opinion. The composition & execution is high quality however there's very little ambition on display with the riff structures being about as simple as you'll find in 2021. Still, despite the fact that I've never rated Martin van Drunen's vocal delivery as highly as some, I'm an OSDM tragic if you've ever seen one so it's hard not to enjoy the way that Asphyx maximize the impact of their arrangements by not overcomplicating things & keeping plenty of space in their composition. In fact, I was actually very close to going with a 4/5 simply due to the overall consistency of this record that includes no weak tracks but I was ultimately held back by the lack of genuine highlights.

3.5/5

P.S. How blatant is the Bolt Thrower worship on "Molten Black Earth"??

Click Track Click Track Click Track CLICK TRACK!!!

I wanted to like this more. The Death Doom hybrid on display is drastically different from the far more ethereal and atmospheric stuff that I am accustomed to. But the poor death vocal timbre from a guy in his fifties and a truly awful percussion mix that desperately needs a click track make this album far more of a chore than I would have liked. 

6/10