Has it really been nine years since the last Nekromantheon album, Rise, Vulcan Spectre? Granted, I wasn’t listening to them at that time. In those days, my music taste consisted of the bands who made up the VH1 Classic Metal Mania video blocks and lurked between the pages of Revolver magazine (shudders). I don’t think I discovered Nekromantheon until I started college, but when I did, they became a fixture of my jogging/workout playlist. So when the news came out that they were returning with their long awaited third album, Visions of Trismegistos, I was stoked.
For those unfamiliar, Nekromantheon is a Norwegian thrash trio who specializes in unrelenting thrash metal that sounds straight out of 1985. This was the year that thrash got darker, heavier, and arguably morphed into what we know today as death metal, depending on who you ask. Nekromantheon has this approach down to a t. There’s no lighthearted, ignorant, “get in the pit” pizza thrash to be heard here. No, this is some diabolical thrash which stylistically lies somewhere between Hell Awaits and Seven Churches.
This formula is summed up on the opening title track. The perfect balance of evil and aggression, “The Visions of Trismegistos” is the soundtrack to our descent into the underworld. For the next 30 or so minutes, we’re given nothing less than a blistering barrage of fire and brimstone. This track contains a midtempo section, as do a few others throughout (“Neptune Descent”, “Zealot Reign”), but by no means would I label them “breakdowns”. They lack the carefree mentality I mentioned in the last paragraph. There’s nothing wrong with that. Not all thrash metal should don Suicidal Tendencies caps and Bermuda shorts.
Cuts like “Seven Rulers of Fate” and “Dead Temples” blur the line between thrash and death. The former reminds me of Possessed, while the latter conjures echoes of early Sepultura. Both tracks boast pulverizing riffs at lightening speed. However, there’s more to Nekromantheon than playing some of the most sinister thrash metal created in the past decade. My choice cut, “Neptune Descent”, showcases the band’s musicianship and exemplary songwriting abilities. The riffs dominate, as they do from beginning to end, but a calculated series of twists and turns recalls the salad days of tech death (i.e. Death, Atheist, Hellwitch). Balancing technical showmanship and unrelenting brutality to such devastating effect is beyond impressive.
As of this writing, Visions of Trismegistos has been added to my jogging/workout playlist. If I have to spend the next 9 years jogging to it in anticipation for Nekromantheon album #4, I don’t think I’d complain. The fire within this release will continue to burn brighter in time, just as Rise, Vulcan Spectre did before it. If you’re one of the many who miss Slayer, or more specifically miss the way Slayer sounded 35 years ago, get your hands on Visions of Trismegistos and prepare yourself for a sonic assault on the senses.
8 out of 10
Label: Indie Recordings
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Slayer, Possessed, Kreator