Tag: heavymetal

ALBUM REVIEW: NECROWRETCH

Necrowretch – Swords of Dajjal

Reviewed by: Kenneth Gallant

Review Score 9.0

You have to love it when a band can build tenure in any musical genre. When a band like Necrowretch is eating up fifteen years in the business it’s quite a feat. Now I say this having very little exposure to the band’s discography, but upon hearing their latest effort, I have to say I’m quite impressed.

The album in question is Swords Of Dajjal and it’s due out February 2nd on Seasons of Mist Underground Activists. What you get here is an album clocking in around thirty-seven minutes of the blackened-death variety and it only took three years in the making according to the band.

This is also album number five, coming upon the heels of the whole world shut down debacle of COVID, and it’s quite an interesting back story as to how this record came about. For starters, the previous release The Ones From Hell (came out in 2020) was meant to give the band a huge push right out of the gate. A European tour was put together with Kampfar and Taake, but that was quickly squashed when the pandemic erupted. The band was forced into shutdown mode, so they decided to write some new songs.

These songs gave the band a chance to upgrade their power and depth as a musical entity and according to singer Vlad, he took singing lessons to meet that challenge, along with upgrading their gear and tuning the sound. What came about afterwards is a sound of intensely written black metal, but with more variety and some death metal layering in for good measure.

Necrowretch

This all sounds exciting, so when perusing over the press-kit materials I quickly realized the band means business on this new release. So without further adieu, here’s some of my analysis on what to expect with Swords Of Dajjal.

The guitars are out front on the opening track ‘Ksar Al-Kufar’, along with Vlad’s raspy vocal delivery in a pronounced way. He sounds immediate here and I’m liking what I am hearing. There’s some nice ominous passages that start up on ‘The Fifth Door’ right out of the gate. The commanding drone of the guitars reach my ears quickly and Vlad layers his vocals with a fiery passion. The song spirals into a meaty mid-section and I am completely enthralled with this new sound.

‘Di Mauri’ begins with a demonic passage of speech and blackened guitars that spew out a tone of nastiness. The band’s new drummer N. Destroyer is on fire and I’m getting some early-era Entombed vibes here tonally. The pace quickens on the title track Swords Of Dajjal because those riffs take centre stage and provide meaty fisticuffs before sprawling into a doom laden passage. This is definitely some serious stuff happening and we’re only half-way through the recording.

It’s hard to tell what is being said lyrically, but I suppose ‘Numidian Knowledge’ is waxing poetically on the ways of this semi-nomadic tribe known as the Numidia population. As esoteric as it sounds, the song spirals out like a group of monks deviating from their daily ritual of prayers and mediation and embarking on some bloodletting. It’s a pretty cool song for the most part and I do like the snaky passages leading up to the end of it. The next track ‘Vae Victis’ is a black metal staple with all the fixings, as the guitars drone along until the stark turn into barked out death vocals and blasting guitars. It’s such a great way to end the number.

‘Daeva’ is a short instrumental track that follows; getting punchy and straight to the point. However, it’s contrasted by the closing number ‘Total Obliteration’ as being the longest track here. You get some precision drumming and drony guitars to start out, but Vlad’s vocals are shouted out and seem to give the song some added extra dimension. There’s a smooth transition into the eerie sounds of hands sliding across the neck of the guitar strings that is a really neat effect to bring an end to the proceedings. I have to say this track concludes with a bang and it compliments the other seven tracks before it.

I have to say this is a banger of a release! It’s built upon a new and improved sound, plus it expertly straddles along the genres of both black and death metal. Vlad’s vocals are a high point for me and you can’t go wrong with a band who puts its best foot forward in earnest of improving their sound overall. Let’s see what they do on the live concert circuit in 2024.

Swords of Dajjal will be released February 2, 2024 on Season of Mist

The Metal Pit’s Top 15 of 2023

  1. Obituary – Dying Of Everything
  2. Overkill – Scorched
  3. Primordial – How It Ends
  4. Cannibal Corpse – Chaos Horrific
  5. Dying Fetus – Make Them Beg For Death
  6. Hellripper – Warlocks Grim And Withered Hags
  7. Enslaved – Heimdal
  8. Suffocation – Hymns From The Apocrypha
  9. Katatonia – Sky Void Of Stars
  10. Tsjuder – Helvegr
  11. Incantation – Unholy Deification
  12. Blackbraid – II
  13. Tomb Mold – The Enduring Spirit
  14. Tailgunner – Guns For Hire
  15. Prong – State of Emergency

Like clockwork, each and every year metalheads compile a list of their favorite albums that destroyed their earholes for the year, and 2023 was no different.

So, what was it about 2023 and metal releases that made this year so special? For starters, it was certainly the year of death metal. Who would have thought that thirty-five years after the release of many of the classic albums that birthed the genre that we would be here today still critiquing albums from these bands?

This year saw some incredibly relevant albums from many of our death metal overlords, which included Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Incantation, Dying Fetus, and Obituary. In fact, all five made The Metal Pit’s year-end list, with Obituary taking the number one spot. Additionally, we had one contemporary death metal band, Tomb Mold, make our list, with many of our contributors placing it quite high. It’s good to see death metal so strong all these years later.

Similarly, black metal proper has been infecting ears over the last thirty years yet remains just as strong today as it did back in those early church burning, murderous days. This year saw some stellar releases from the Nordic contingent with albums by the mighty Enslaved and Tsjuder (the latter releasing one of their most vicious albums yet). Again, we had a couple of contemporary black metal albums make our year-end, which includes newcomers Blackbraid and Hellripper.

If The Metal Pit’s year-end list is any indication, 2023 wasn’t quite the year of thrash, with only a couple of albums making the list. That said, one of those albums, Overkill‘s Scorched, scored the number two spot. A fantastic album that showcases the consistency and relevance of this legendary, genre-defining band. We once again have to speak about Scotland’s Hellripper (who we previously mentioned when discussing 2023’s black metal releases). When it comes to thrash, Hellripper certainly fits the bill, with a ton of killer riffs that display a decidedly 80s thrash attack. Definitely a band to watch out for.

Rounding out our list we have few outliers, two of whom comfortably fit in the alternative metal category. The first of those bands is Prong. Another legendary act who released perhaps their best album since 1990’s Beg to Differ and 1991’s Prove You Wrong. An incredible album that showcases the relevancy of their crossover take on thrash and alternative metal. The UK’s Tailgunner was probably the surprise band of 2023 with their debut full-length Guns For Hire, an album chock-full of solid metal goodies. Quite the feat for a band that has only been in existence for a few short years.

The last band of our list, Swedish legends Katatonia, is a band that I’m certain makes year-end lists for each and every album they release. They truly are one of the most consistent heavy bands in existence, and this year’s Sky Void Of Stars once again proves this.

The Metal Pit is looking forward to a bevy of releases in 2024… stay tuned, as we will definitely be covering tons of metal this coming year! We thank you for supporting us and are looking forward to seeing you all in the PIT!

The Metal Pit Writers Top 15 lists.

Jim Harrison
Tom Elke
Georgina Strilakos
Dennis van’t Hoofd
Kenneth Gallant
Billy Klare
Staicha Kidd
Jason Deaville
Kim Baarda
Blake Mossey

Interview with Tomislav Perkovic – Drummer for Elm Street

Tomislav Perkovic
Photo by Vidic Images

Our writer Tom Elke connected with Tomislav Petrovic, Drummer Extrordinaire for the Australian Band Elm Street for a “Q & A Session.”

Tom Elke: Hi Tomislav, Thanks for joining me! It’s great to chat with you. I want to get into all things Drums with you, but why don’t you get us up to speed on what’s going on in the Elm Street Camp. Of course the new album, perhaps some touring plans, etc?

Tomislav Petrovic: It’s been busy and exciting year. We always had plans to finally release our new album after COVID delays with studio time. We started off back in the studio finishing off the recordings and at the same time, had a few shows in Australia with Udo Dirkschneider, which were our first shows back since 2021. Since releasing the album in October this year, we’ve been focused on promoting the album with live shows around Australia and have some exciting plans to extend the live shows overseas in 2024. We’re hoping that the wait between the next album, won’t be so long and we’ll begin writing soon.

When did you start playing the Drums? What made you interested in them?

TP: When we formed the band called ‘Raid’ at the time back in 2003 in high school none of us knew how to play any instruments. We were heavily influenced by Iron Maiden at the time(still are). Aaron, Ben and myself all wanted to play guitar and have 3 guitarists in the band. My older brother Roko plays guitar and I wanted to get lessons from his teacher but there were no spots available. I waited 6 months hoping someone will quit so there could be a spot for me haha but that didn’t happen and my brother suggested to give drums a try. I did, I found my drum teacher Simon Gatt at his school Rhythmic Passion and I’m glad I did.

You’re associated with DW Drums, how did that come about?

TP: I’ve always wanted to play DW drums for many years and lucky for me a friend of mine Joe Torre who is the drummer for Aussie artist Shannon Noll was signed with DW at the time. He guided me in the right direction, I signed with D’addario who distribute DW, Pro Mark sticks and Evans drum heads.

Take us around your set-up. I love the Arial Toms and some of the smaller “Octobon” like Toms.

TP: The set up I have right now has been in my mind for many years and I couldn’t quite figure it out until this year. Slowly over the years I’ve added toms, experimented with different heights and angles as drummers do and finally worked it out! I bought a few lengths of stainless steel tubing and a pipe bender and through trial and error I managed to come up with what you see on this new album. New additions I’ve added are 8×6, 8×8, 8×10 rack toms. 4 rata toms at 6×14, 6×16, 6×18, 6×20 and lastly my favourite my mega 20×20 floor tom that actually hangs off the rack. haha

I love how you use you China’s. Take a Track like “Sabbath,” you just shower the listener with China Cymbal strikes in the Intro. Share some thoughts on your utilization of the China’s.

TP: Great question! I love it when my cymbal work gets noticed haha always great to hear! ‘Sabbath’ is one of my favourite songs to listen and jam out too. The way I approach using the china cymbal is where does the song need more colour by accenting certain guitar sections or vocal lines. ‘Sabbath’ was an easy one because it’s so energetic but also there’s room to breathe.

Will you be able to bring your DW Set with you when you go out on tour? Or will it have to be Backline/House Sets?

TP: Unfortunately I’m not in the position yet to use this set up live. But if I had it my way I definitely would! So for now backline would have to do.

If you would like, just comment on using Backline/House Sets. I as a Drumming Fan find it frustrating when a Drummer has to do that. Your set-up is a very personal, specific to your wants/needs with how everything is in place. So I always get frustrated by that whole concept.

TP: In my early years of touring I used to get frustrated about using backline, especially when the quality of the hardware isn’t the best because cymbals always tend to fall during songs and we all know how frustrating that gets! As I’ve gotten older I try not to let it get to me. Going through those challenges make you a better drummer so I just I smile at the boys and get the show on.

Do you have any Drummer favorites? Or who influenced you?

TP: I have many drummers who have influenced me over the years. Growing up I really liked the style of Nicko McBrain, Vinnie Appice, A. J. Pero, Tommy Aldridge and my drum teacher Simon Gatt. When it comes to set ups I was influenced by Robert Sweet of Stryper, Nick Menza of Megadeth and Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche. Especially his set up on Operation Mindcrime. The last few years drummers like Mike Portnoy, Thomas Lang and the late great Dom Famularo have inspired me.

What would you say to young _Or older) Drummers out there who want to improve their skills?

TP: The most important thing about improving as a player is consistency. Try to play as much as you can everyday even if it’s only 20 minutes. Also keep in mind when sitting behind the kit try not to get distracted by noodling around and try to focus on metronome work, exercises, learning new styles etc…

Any parting words or anything you would like to mention in closing?

TP: Tom Elke thank you for reaching out, I had fun answering these questions. Im a fan of your posts. keep up the great work, thank you for your support, take care.

Thank you!!

TP: Thanks Tom! I had fun man. You’re a legend!
Tomisla

***Photos provided by Tomislav Perkovic***

Kim Baarda – Top 15 Albums of 2023

  1. Dying Fetus – Make Them Beg for Death
  2. Suffocation – Hymns from the Apocrypha
  3. Primordial – How It Ends
  4. Enslaved – Heimdal
  5. Tsjuder – Helvegr
  6. Incantation – Unholy Deification
  7. Extermination Dismemberment – Dehumanization Protocol
  8. Sanguisugabogg – Homicidal Ecstasy
  9. Katatonia – Sky Void of Stars
  10. Overkill – Scorched
  11. Marduk – Memento Mori
  12. Obituary – Dying of Everything
  13. Wolves in the Throne Room – Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge (EP)
  14. Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite
  15. Xasthur – Inevitably Dark

Honorable mention: Iotunn – Mistland Single

By far the highlight of 2023 was my trip to Bergen, Norway this past August for the annual four-day extreme metal festival, Beyond The Gates. This year’s edition was pure perfection, with incredible performances by Deicide, Gorgoroth, Primordial, Enslaved, Dimmu Borgir, Kreator, Bolzer, Perturbator, among many others.

It seems that 2023 was also the year that live shows returned with a vengeance. There were so many great tours that it looks like things are finally getting back to normal. With all these awesome tours and festivals, 2023 was also a year that made it easy to make some lifelong friends, both closer to home (Canada) as well as overseas. No matter where I go, I now have a crew of like-minded, metal-thrashing mad friends to hangout with!

Finally, it was also the year that saw all our hard-work here at The Metal Pit grow into something incredibly special. We now have a fantastic crew of contributors who pump out world-class metal coverage. All that hard-work is being noticed as the site is growing by leaps and bounds! Onward and upward into 2024 we go!

1981 Year In Metal

1981

Written by: Blake Mossey

News Items from 1981

  • January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile rolled off the assembly line. Later made famous in the Back To The Future movies.
  • March 30 – Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan: U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.
  • May 13 – Pope John Paul II assassination attempt: Pope John Paul II is shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman.
  • June 5 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States report that 5 men in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, the first recognized cases of AIDS.
  • July 9 – Donkey Kong is released, marking the first Donkey Kong and Mario smash hit arcade game developed by Nintendo in Japan.
  • July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 750 million people watch the Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, UK.
  • August 1 – The first 24-hour video music channel MTV (Music Television) is launched in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
  • August 24 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering John Lennon in Manhattan eight months earlier.
  • Use of crack cocaine, a smokeable form of the drug, first reported in the United States and Caribbean.

New Wave of British Heavy Metal

1981 is going back to the time, when bands would have new albums almost every year. Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon to name a few that had albums in 1980 and again in 1981. Nowadays were lucky to get a new album every 3-5 years from bands. So many classic Metal albums released in 1981 from our British Metal stalwarts. Here are a few more notable ones.

Iron Maiden – Killers
The 2nd studio album from Iron Maiden. The last to feature Paul Di’Anno on vocals. The 1st Maiden album to feature Adrian Smith on guitar and the first of many to be produced by the legendary producer Martin Birch. ‘Wrathchild’ is still played live at most shows. A great Maiden album but of course adding Bruce Dickinson for the next album The Number of the Beast really broke Iron Maiden to the world.
Best track: Killers

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman
The 2nd solo album from Ozzy and sadly the last to feature the late great guitarist Randy Rhoads who died in a plane crash in 1982. Despite his short career Randy inspired so many with his guitar work on these 2 Ozzy albums and that alone makes them classics. Some would even say the last great Ozzy album.
Best Track: Diary Of A Madman

Black Sabbath – Mob Rules
Following up the classic DIO debut with Sabbath Heaven And Hell with Mob Rules. Most would say not as good as the predesessor but still a great album with great tracks like ‘Turn Up The Night’ and ‘The Sign Of The Southern Cross’. This album also produced by Martin Birch. Dio left Sabbath after this album but only to return again about 10 years later for Dehumanizer.
Best track: Turn Up The Night

Venom – Welcome To Hell
Debut solo album from extreme metal band Venom. A very influential album along with their next release Black Metal as they influenced so many bands and opened the doors to more darker evil lyrics and of course creating the genre name of Black Metal with their 2nd previously mentioned album.
Best Track: Welcome To Hell

Motorhead – No Sleep’til Hammersmith
I think if my memory serves me well I saw this at the record store and bought it before I even heard of Motorhead before. Its my first live album I ever purchased and ‘No Class’ remains my favorite Motorhead song ever. A great introduction to the live show that was Motorhead.
Best Track: No Class

Canadian Metal/Hard Rock

As a Canadian back in the year 1981 before we had the internet and being able to listen to anything we wanted we would hear a lot of Canadian bands on our local radio. Canada’s 2 biggest hard rock and bordering on Metal bands were RUSH and TRIUMPH. Both 3 piece bands. Both making big waves in the USA. And for a lot of Canadians you were either in the RUSH camp or the TRIUMPH camp. I choose Triumph. Also 1981 featured the debut album from ANVIL – Hard ‘N’ Heavy but for me their next 2 releases were their masterpieces.

RUSH – Moving Pictures
Their 8th studio album Moving Pictures. Filled with shorter and more radio friendly songs then previous efforts like their classic 2112. ‘Limelight’ and ‘Tom Sawyer’ leading the way. This album sold over 5 millions copies in the USA alone.
Best Track: Limelight

Triumph – Allied Forces
After hearing their epic track Rock and Roll Machine from their 2nd album I was hooked on Triumph with Rik Emmett’s amazing guitar work. And this their 5th album featuring their massive hit ‘Magic Power’ but I was into the more heavy rocking songs like ‘Fool For Your Love’ and the title track. A few albums after this the band started to fall apart and just kept getting more and more commercial.
Best Track: Allied Forces

The Other Stuff

  • Late in the year Paul Di’Anno fired from Iron Maiden and replaced by Bruce Dickinson
  • AC/DC released For Those About To Rock (We Salute You), really the only Brian Johnson album I enjoyed
  • Girlschool released their 2nd studio album Hit And Run. One of, if not the first real all female Metal bands.
  • Iron Maiden released a live EP titled Maiden Japan which of course was a play on words on the classic Deep Purple live album Made In Japan. It featured 5 songs with Paul Di’Anno on vocals.
  • Motley Crue‘s debut album Too Fast For Love was released. One of the earliest hair metal albums even though this was more raw then anything they would release after.
  • The Canadian animated science fiction movie titled HEAVY METAL was released featuring voices of some notable actors like John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy and Harold Ramis. And the title track of the movie done by Sammy Hagar.
  • Motorhead and Girlschool joined forces for a EP title St. Valentines Day Massacre featuring 3 songs, ‘Emergency’, ‘Please Don’t Touch’ and a cover of the Motorhead song ‘Bomber’. They went by the name Headgirl.

Notable Metal Bands formed in 1981—Look what is on the horizon for Metal in 1982

  • Anthrax
  • Manowar
  • Metallica
  • Mercyful Fate
  • Motley Crue
  • Overkill
  • Pantera
  • Ratt
  • Queensryche
  • Savatage
  • Slayer
  • Suicidal Tendencies
  • Twisted Sister
  • Vixen

1981 was such a great year for Metal. Make sure to check out some of our podcasts on some of the album talked about on this page. To finish it off here is my top 10 albums of 1981.

  1. Iron Maiden – Killers
  2. Venom – Welcome to Hell
  3. Triumph – Allied Forces
  4. Motley Crue – To Fast For Love
  5. Judas Priest – Point of Entry
  6. Ozzy – Diary of a Madman
  7. Black Sabbath – The Mob Rules
  8. Saxon – Denim And Leather
  9. Motorhead – No Sleep’Til Hammersmith
  10. Def Leppard – High ‘N’ Dry


Check out our other years in Metal features HISTORY IN METAL