Sentient Ruin Laboratories (USA) are one of the few prominent underground labels out there actively pushing industrial metal alongside cult death, black and doom acts. NECROTECH are the latest addition to their growing roster of pounding machine-metal.
Opening their debut EP "Necrotechnology" (very imaginative, lads!)
is a short intro of ominous, grinding machine ambience, which acts to set the
mood well and didn't get skipped after 10 seconds. From there we get four tracks displaying a balanced mix
of influence pulled from - accurately enough as far as the label promo
says - GODFLESH, NAILBOMB, PITCHSHIFTER (very clear in "Deadly
Industries"), DEVIATED INSTINCT and the like, but there is clearly some
early FEAR FACTORY in the groovier, more headbangable
riffs and a general early '90s American death metal feel in the tremelo
guitar lines and occasional blastbeat, with electronic samples (sirens,
machine noise etc.) and textural noise rounding out the sonic palette.
The contrast of pounding Broadrick-esque
riffing against the ostensibly extreme metal influence is done well,
and each separate aspect is developed as well as each other - often when
this kind of cross-genre writing is implemented, one side is more
fleshed out than the other, leading to inconsistent songwriting - not the case here, luckily! A full range is covered by vocalist Diego as his parts are variously sang in a "clean" manner,
yelled, shouted, whispered and growled, all executed well. Of particular
note is the final track, "Hateful Spectacle of Intolerance" which
focuses on generating cold, menacing atmosphere
through the use of scratchy, ugly chords, grinding bass lines,
distorted synthesizers, samples and repetitive drum patterns. Despite
being the slowest and longest at 8 minutes, it builds and maintains
tension well and caps off a solid EP.
The production is authentically early '90s in that everything is clear, but with plenty of grit, and while the low-end could have been pumped up a little more, this is easily taken care of by adjusting the bass knob on your EQ. Overall, "Necrotechnology" is a promising start and NECROTECH are one to keep an eye on.
*Digital version reviewed. CD and cassette are out today (January 17th 2025).
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