ALBUM REVIEW: Necroceros – Asphyx

While the European death metal scene was dominated by Scandinavia in its formative years, mainland Europe offered plenty of talent. Top of the pile lies ASPHYX. While their contemporaries brought speed and abrasion in abundance the Dutch outfit laid the foundations for the death/doom subgenre, keeping things on the slower, more crushing end of death metal’s sonic spectrum. Five years one from the solid Incoming Death, ASPHYX are back with potentially their strongest record since the release of their seminal debut The Rack 30 years ago- Necroceros.

Necroceros wastes absolutely no time in bludgeoning the listener, The Sole Cure Is Death bursting from the speakers with a high-tempo ferocity. Martin van Drunen makes his legendary presence immediately felt, spitting pure tortured venom down the mic while the musical chaos grinds its way through. In true ASPHYX style, though, things slow down to a bruising crawl in a transition that is as jarring as it is welcome, before the tempo ramps back up for the closing moments. A whirlwind opening effort, ASPHYX only build from here.

Black Molten Earth is a far slower offering, opting for a more mid-tempo stomp throughout than its preceding rager, loaded with memorable BOLT THROWER riffing and a clearer delivery from van Drunen while Mount Skull sees the quartet lean into the more epic, narrative elements of their sonic arsenal.  This is the real strength of Necroceros; with an ease most artists could only dream of, ASPHYX are able to deliver short, high octane ragers like the trad-metal influenced Knights Templar stand and the grinding Botox Implosion while maintaining the atmosphere and consistency of their more doomy, grandiose offerings.

And speaking of the more grandiose elements of Necroceros, Three Years of Famine is a real standout not just of this new record but of ASPHYX‘s entire catalogue. Bringing more doom into play than id Software, the epic is crammed with brilliance. A lyric change of pace for van Drunen works majestically with the atmosphere-and-melody heavy composition, the mid section channelling IRON MAIDEN vibes that are a welcome addition to the band’s arsenal.

Well into Side B, Necroceros keeps the bar high. Of Blazing Oceans sees ASPHYX double down on the doom, offering up a chugging stomp-a-thon, while beautiful, gloomy leads work wonders in lifting the track that extra little bit, while the devastating one-two of The Nameless Elite and Yield or Die bring the record to its final stretch. The former is another masterful display of the juxtaposition in ASPHYX‘s core sound, blending punky old-school death metal those a healthy dose of doom, while Yield or Die sees a wonderful return of the trad-metal swagger displayed earlier on Knights Templar Stand. The Dutch brutality merchants save their strongest gambit for the final play, though. Necroceros‘s title track is truly something to behold. A death/doom masterpiece that is drowned in an impenetrable murk, the closing effort moves from a bassy funeral dirge intro into a sinister, hook-heavy opus as memorable as it is brutalising.

ASPHYX have upped their game considerably. Throughout Necroceros the four-piece seemingly perfectly encapsulate death metal as a genre, bringing breakneck speed, slower, more atmospheric passages of crushing riffage and masterful song writing in spades. A special mention has to go to van Drunen, who delivers a career-best vocal performance, his signature style sounding more tortured than ever. 2021 has started in the strongest of ways – may the momentum keep rolling.

Rating: 9/10

Necroceros is set for release January 22nd via Century Media Records. 

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