In the history of death metal, Massacre were one of the early pioneers. They were cranking out demos in the mid-80s that would help set the parameters of what death metal would become and lineups included death luminaries like Allen West, Rick Rozz, Bill Andrews, and Kam Lee. Unfortunately, due to various issues Massacre didn’t get a proper album released until 1990 and by then the genre was alive and already evolving beyond them. A disastrous sophomore outing derailed the band before they ever really got going and that was that. 2021 saw two competing versions of Massacre release albums. Inhuman Condition featured several former Massacre members and aimed for their classic sound, and Massacre themselves launched Resurgence with original vocalist Kam Lee getting help from death metal workaholic Rogga Johansson. Resurgence was fun, primitive death for the old school oldies, but looking back, I definitely overrated it. Now we get the second album from the Kam/Rogga alliance and with Necrolution they’ve delivered a classic death platter carbon dated to 1990 but containing a few unexpected and unusual twists and turns. Can these old dawgs bring new energy to a crusty, moldy project?
Necrolution finds Massacre still in their proto-death safe space in line with their From Beyond debut. Opener “Fear of the Unknown” is like something from the late 80s and it could have appeared on their debut and fit right in. It’s early days caveman brutality, but it feels oddly diluted somehow. It segues into an out-of-left-field exotic Middle Eastern-themed interlude with symphonic and female choral work before switching to something that sounds like Candlemass-style epic doom metal on “Rituals of the Abyss.” The song eventually kicks over to a punky, Celtic Frost-inspired brand of Neanderthal death with all sorts of Tom G. Warrior-esque “UHs” and “OHs,” but the leaps between styles are too jarring and confusing. When Massacre sticks to their sweet spot you get enjoyably dumb bashers like “Ensnarers Within” and “The Colour Out of Space,” both of which hammer you with simple but effective riffage and Kam’s Cookie Monster cartoony death roars. The classic Massacre sound is generally present with the slightly punky energy from the old days offering no frills, brainless beatings. There are traces of the classic Swedeath d-beat mixed in for added spice, though things are kept more in the American style for much of the album’s runtime.
The back half has a few stompers too, with “Shriek of the Castle Freak” feeling like an extra-inspired dose of rancid Autopsy-core with an irresistibly scuzzy energy, and “Ad Infinitum: The Final Hour” brings down the deathhammer hard with simple but effective thug death metal. The problem With Necrolution is that even the best moments tetter on the precipe of generic and stock genre tropes, and there are some underwhelming moments along with too many pointless interludes interrupting the forward momentum. “The Things That Were and Shall Be” is okay but feels like watered-down Deicide mixed with classic metal although it features plenty of classic Kam Lee “ARRRRRRRs” and “HEEEEEYs.” “Dead-Life: ReAnimator” is also decent but nothing special. As much as I’m a fan of the style and sound Massacre deploys here, I don’t connect with some of the material as strongly as I should considering I’m the olde death fogey demographic. When it works though, good ugly fun can be had. At 48-plus minutes, Necrolution feels a bit long-winded, and chopping a few lesser tracks would help make it a more focused, ass-kicking spin.
As always Kam Lee is a joy to hear. He gets credit for more or less inventing death vocals and he’s still got a large and in-charge roar. Yes, he often sounds like a 20-foot-tall Cookie Monster, but that’s part of the fun. He’s a legend in the genre he helped create and he brings much phlegm and rot to the pit. Extremely well-traveled death institution Mr. Rogga (Paganizer, Putrevore, Ribspreader, and 500 other bands) and almost equally seasoned axe-man Johnny Pettersson (Rotpit, Heads for the Dead, Wombbath, etc.) know their way around the riff machine and bring a motley collection of chugs, grooves, d-beats, and doom plods to the slaughter. They do a good job keeping the songs moving and bouncing and provide a steady diet of headbangable moments. There’s nothing special or unique to what this version of Massacre do, but if you love the olden style of death metal, there’s a lot to appreciate in how they execute it.
I want to love Necrolution more than I do. It has its share of fun moments but it has some so-so moments too and the excessive, out-of-place interludes distract from the brain-smashing. If this is where Massacre are destined to sit quality-wise, I can live with that and will give every release a spin and mine the best moments. This won’t be on many year-end lists but it’s still an enjoyable ride with some familiar fiends.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Agonia
Websites: massacre3.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/massacrebandusa | instagram.com/massacre_band_official
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024
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