Hidden from plain sight and at work on shadow-and-ghost conjured curses for well over a decade London, England-based morbid blackened death-thrash metal quartet NECROMANIAC emerge cloaked and black-eyed in peak possession form for this well-built debut full-length album. Obsessed with the cruelty of extreme thrash metal of the mid-to-late 80’s and indebted to morbid blackened death nascency ‘Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable‘ presents classics-minded craft at a highest standard today, uncompromised evil finding its bloodier, blackened flow in an age of torpor and forgotten principles. Though there may be some patience involved in allowing these deliberately struck, highly detailed pieces to sink in fans of the riff who show up for this one should be rewarded in every case.

Formed circa 2011 and solidified as a quartet by 2014 the original works from Necromaniac were characterized by their close study of the mid-to-late 80’s thrashing death metal underground where we could consider the ‘Abominations of Desolation‘ adjacent realm of ‘Hell Awaits‘ inspired morbid thrash a vague goalpost for the interests of riff-proctor Sadistik Fornicator. Though I could reference everything from the first Vampire (Sweden) demo to Slaughter Lord in approach of their first demo tape (‘Morbid Metal‘, 2015), a largely characteristic release out the gates, we could consider their muse obvious under the blanket of early extreme thrash. The ripping pull of the ‘Subterranean Death Rising‘ (2018) 7″ EP and its haunted refrains suggested some first wave black metal served as inspiration but the death-thrash haul of it was the main event for my taste. Though the energetic dark rush of those early Thanatophilia R.G. (Binah, ex-Indesinence) fronted releases caught ears they weren’t the entirety of the expectations set for this LP.

From that point C. Howler (Nightbringer, ex-Morbid Insulter) took over the vocals and our only glimpse of Necromaniac‘s development since came from pre-production demo versions of three songs from this new album via the ‘Promo MMXXIV‘ (2024) release. Lengthier and often even more classic thrash orientated those new pieces were largely complete, raw versions of three songs which contribute to the first half of ‘Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable‘. Since I’d already spent quite a lot of time with the promo last year the thing to note here is that this new version of “Grave Mound Oath” is not only a bit longer but showcases some of the additional atmospheric reach of this record and more importantly there is a bounding black-thrashing side to the band’s arcane primitivity which seems to have become more of their central fire. Expect the full duration of this album to lean into those traits: Classic ‘evil’ and/or morbid thrash rhythms spanning ~6-7 minute pieces which’re enriched by more black metal atmosphere than expected.

The primal co-mingling buzz of the rehearsal room ready to burn and the march of war that greets us (via “Caput Draconis”) create plenty of fanfare for the Slayer-esque rush of riffs to push off of at the outset of “Daemonomantia” and that death-thrashing riff obsessed feeling is definitely there as Necromaniac returns. The groan of the choral keys, choirs and synthesizers loom in the background as the song cycles through its fairly simple structure twice while the echoic snarls of Howler and longer-form songs create a markedly difference effect than ‘Subterranean Death Rising‘, an approach which I believe speaks to some admiration for Negative Plane or shares some enthusiasm for that early Mortuary Drape aura and the heavy use of floor toms for dramatic effect. Again, “Grave Mound Oath” is the big song, the album highlight, the piece which defines the band’s current state best as an 8-minute flex on sinister horror-atmospheric thrashing muse willing to take its time to build out its scenery without accelerating through the riff count too quickly. From my point of view this is a marked change from where Necromaniac started but not an uncomfortable, unheard of shift toward darker atmosphere and slow-to-mid tempo rhythmic development.

From the throat clenching ritual of “Calling Forth the Shade” to the blasting cut of “Great is the Thirst of the Restless Dead” the torment of the old ways is exaggerated, blooming into a rotten-thrashing froth of a record which only carries its ~53 minute stretch by the unholy magick of its knack for tunneling-deep morbid thrash riffcraft. Patiently articulating acts of adrenaline is its own talent, a surreal yet appreciably ‘old school’ temperament Necromaniac‘ve managed here which “Teraphim (Skull Sorcery)” does a fine job illustrating per its opening ‘Haunting the Chapel‘ level stroke of evil and the racing n’ jogging step of the song’s more maniac dual-rhythmic runs. For my own taste that middle album set of pieces is the heat of the record, a mix of new and old ideas all of which form a cohesive introduction for the exact feeling these folks carry through all of their work. That said, the final eighteen minutes and two songs (“Swedenborg’s Skull” b/w “Necromancess / Cauda Draconis”) will serve as either the apex of their creation or the exhaustion of the core idea to the point of madness depending on your taste, I particularly like the slower more menacing side of their work and found this to be the grand finale one’d want from such an elaborately writ debut LP.

The reason I’d picked this album up, the riffs, and the black magick promised by its presentation were delivered upon to some elaborate degree and to no great surprise thanks to the pre-emptive promo from last year. Without question Necromaniac have a clear purpose and’ve found a unique direction to take the thrashing 80’s black/death metal muse in mind so there’ve been not qualms on my end in terms of its nigh hourlong stretch and the worthy atmosphere generated throughout. I’ve found this album was a grower, bearing all of the right marks to gain interest but without a ton of memorable “heavy metal” moments which strike loud up front beyond the obvious. With time it’d not only grown on me but appears to hold some longevity based on returning to the full listen after a week or two, finding the gamut repeatable and rife with interesting detail. A high recommendation.

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