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NECROWRETCH
Swords Of Dajjal

Season Of Mist Underground Activities (2024)
Rating: 8.5/10

After a four year silence satanic metalheads Necrowretch returns with another dose of deadly black-death nastiness. Swords Of Dajjal is the fifth full-length outing from this band which introduced itself way back in 2008 via a four-song demo.

With Swords Of Dajjal France’s Necrowretch remains comfortable in that sinister black metal routine so that for 38 minutes the combo glides effortlessly like a freezing mist soon to envelope everyone. Opener ‘Ksar Al-Kufar’ features that steady glinting rush of stark guitars and throaty vocal scrapes as the drums clatter like an old wagon transporting a clan of darkly-clad bloodsuckers through the Carpathian Mountains. This is Necrowretch at their blackest and most ominous, and for the most part downright scary as creepy closer ‘Total Obliteration’ manifests like a rising spectre of doom with its sinister traipse of riffs and teasing drums before the onset of a speedy, sniping onslaught.

In between those strong bookend tracks we also get treated to the horrific strains of the suspenseful ‘Dii Mauri’, the blazing strikes of ‘Vae Victis’ and the snaking seething hatred of the title track whereby lead man Vlad spits venom like a madman. The whole album is so well toned and trimmed and slithers like a muscular serpent, and such toning enables extra arrogance as exhibited on the grooved ‘The Fifth Door’ which bristles with a suspenseful swagger.

For me this is the best Necrowretch opus to date, a scathing retort that occasionally drifts into Dissection realms of coldness while remaining as sharp as a ship. The death metal roots still exist, only this time such down tempo moods are scorched by a blacker, more spiteful fire. Considering the impressive back catalogue, Necrowretch has evolved and excelled beyond all expectation.

Neil Arnold

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