Terra Necrosis

I must admit that with such killer albums like “Recremation” Nominon quickly became one of my favourite death metal bands. At least at the time of release of this album, which was in 2003 it really was something truly exceptional to get such an awesome piece of old styled Swedish death metal (something what nowadays is a daily routine – I mean to discover new band or release in this style hehe). Obviously I eagerly waited for next Nominon attack and it came in 2007 under the title “Terra Necrosis”. As always I wanted to get a vinyl copy and I got one. It was released by Blood Harvest and I must say that this label again proved to be a leading force in this style of death metal, picking up only the best bands around! Ha! Sorry, I’m wrong - sadly for them they never had a chance to release anything from Repugnant haha! Anyway, if you ever get a chance I definitely recommend you getting this LP, as not only the music shreds (yeah, it fuckin does!), but the vinyl is nicely released, with huge poster. So it one of those releases, which - if you’re into this music - should be highly sought after!

First thing, which I love about “Terra Necrosis” is the production. OK, it is nothing unusual, really, but I just like this classic Swedish noise! The guitars sound clean and have typical “buzzzz”, but they definitely sound aggressive and sharp enough to easily cut your throat, once you hear it. Well, no surprise – the album was recorded and mixed in Necromorbus, with Tore Stjerna – this guy long time ago got a reputation for great productions, not just black metal ones, but also some of the best death metal. And right from the opening song – “Release the Death” – “Terra Necrosis” slays and burns, crushes and devastates… It is wonderful. This first song has everything I love about this style – riff for relentless mosh, some faster parts, but also a short melodic piece somewhere in the middle. I just cannot resist it and bang my head like a crazy monkey. And “Terra Necrosis” just flows; track after track I devour this music and feel obsessed with it. It is almost pointless to mention what some particular tracks are like, as it is just pure, traditional to the bone, violent Svensk Dods Metal at its best, which would take most of its influence from the Grave albums, such as “You’ll Never See…” and also from some of their recent releases, plus I would also add the almighty Dismember, also from their recent LPs, but without such a strong melodic accents. Each song really hits my musical G-point, I love “Black Chapel” for instance, for its dark atmosphere and dominant slow pace. I like “Ebola”, as it is so fast and merciless like none of the old bands were back in the 90’s. Then “Among the Beasts & Ancient Slumber” is again classic to the bone, with just awesome, awesome riffs and vocal parts. Side A of the LP, with five tracks, went by really quickly, but that’s just because my whole attention has been putted on banging the head, rather than counting the minutes. What a killer stuff. And with side B it doesn’t change; no fillers, not time wasted for bullshit, no lame hole plunging or whatever. And I think I like ”Terra Necrosis” even more than “Recremation”, even if the previous LP was truly special, but in the purely technical aspects “Terra…” just has better song writing, better production, better feeling… Well, I cannot even pick up a standout tracks, as they’re all damn good, while on the previous releases there were two, three songs, which I liked especially and two, three that were less inspiring. Good stuff then!

I was blown away by their previous killer, Recremation, and this time around I’m nailed to the floor. These Swedish lads have created an utterly dark and hateful death metal album, ignoring trends and holding their heads proudly up in the sky as they dare to peek out of the mold. There’s a whole bunch of bands that are hailed for their old school feeling, while they’re really just re-doing what Dismember and Nihilist have already done. And while Nominon might not re-invent the wheel, they’re sure-as-hell not just another clone.

The brutal riffing definitely keeps it old school, but takes on more modern influences that I might even blame Deicide for, and I could probably blame Autopsy for being the models of dirty and raw aggression, after which Terra necrosis was sculpted. But amidst the ferocity and just pure aggression, there’s also a hint of melody that I’d say is unusual for modern old school death metallers. The tunes are varied and offers raging speed, mid tempo and heavy-as-shit breakdowns, seasoned with the pummeling, heavy-as-hell strings and oh-so-lovely vocals. Garptoft’s growling screams reeks of hatred, and is fits the music perfectly. The production offers a thick wall of sound that really lets the brutality take its full effect, and each and every riff just screams “I’ll kill you”, oozing of hatred.

They’ve definitely topped their old releases, and I don’t see how they could ever match Terra necrosis. But after the development Nominon have shown over the years I doubt they’ll disappoint in the future.

Originally written for www.mylastchapter.net