Beyond the Truth

"Beyond the Truth" is the short, second demo tape from Japanese death/thrashers Necrophile. Lots of people consider this band to be one of the better and most influential outfits out of Japan, but I don't know if I would agree with that. This tape is rather weak and in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to demo releases by bands like Transgressor and Messiah Death around that time. Of course, the split LP with Abhorer is quite killer but that's a review for another day...

What makes this demo unappealing is the horrible production. You have to listen very closely to make out the drums, and even then all you'll hear is the snare. The guitars and vocals are very distorted. The singer has a similar style of vocals used on Megaslaughter's debut LP, although it sounds like he's holding the mic too close. The bass guitar is the best produced instrument on the demo, but most of the time it sounds louder than the drums!

"Night of the Gloomy Narcist" is the first song and begins with some typical thrash riffing in the Slayer vein, along with some silly laughter from the vocalist. At this point the production sounds good, but that soon changes once the drums surface. This a very fast-paced track with lots of quick thrash beats and insane guitar solos. Some slower, heavy riffs appear towards the end as well. The second song is called "Thrall of the Peace" and on this one Necrophile use more chunky thrash riffs along with some brief double bass drumming. The breakneck speed sections come in later, as do the distorted guitar solos once again. What's strange about this song is that the volume levels seem a bit lower, and the double bass drums actually stand out when the music slows down. Indeed, it sounds like it was recorded at a different session.

In the end, this is a very average demo and definitely not the best representation for Necrophile; but clocking in at under 7:00, it's a decent piece of filler than you can throw at the end of a tape filled with obscure Asian evilness.