Candelabrum Necrosferatulum

Necrosferatul, the man behind vampiric raw black metal act of the same name, may be Austrian but his heart must be in Australia since his project is a mix of melodic BM, garage, post-punk, post-rock and psychedelic 1960s-styled surf music. Also, Necrosferatul's first album "Ancient Bloodlines Mean Nothing", which takes down the royalty, the aristocracy and other political elites and exposes them for the parasitic vampires they are, feeding on the labour and sweat of those they exploit, would strike a chord with many Australians (sadly, not all Australians) for its attitude and stance against hierarchy, status and unquestioned tradition. Necrosferatul rides back again on another huge wave of necrosurf black metal with second album "Candelabrum Necrosferatulum", this time with a cleaner, clearer sound than on the first album but no less committed to his crusade of pursuing and impaling those who claim to be our leaders while preying on us and stealing our wealth and land.

You don't get much more commitment than opening track "The Skins of Kings will Fly as Our Banners" as Necrosferatul charges forth with banging percussion, harsh blaring guitars, droning synths, shrill theremins (or their synth equivalents) and deep monstrous roars and shrieks. Demented church organ melodies add to the fervour and take over the song completely at one point in its second half before the music resumes its furious rush. The pursuit carries over into "What the Ravens Found among the Dead Tyrants", with a darkened and more deranged B-grade horror-movie soundtrack ambience that features lots of catchy guitar hooks and classic heavy metal riffs in amongst the galloping tremolo guitar chords. By third track "Carpathian Blood Waves", Necrosferatul's style of blackened rock'n'roll with the bluesy psychedelic surf guitar licks and Gothic organ melodies is well and truly established, and perhaps the only BM element that remains is the harsh singing. Even then, there's not that much rasping on "Carpathian Blood Waves", at least not in its middle section which goes off on a hilarious detour of blackened surf guitar trills before it remembers what and where it is, and quickly resumes its black metal manners.

From then on, Necrosferatul continues with a mix of BM, melodic rock and psychedelic necrosurf elements and structures, and the fusion of the three, along with various eccentric touches, is very well done: the surreal surf music elements bring a deranged quality to the black metal core. Each track is different from the next, with one later song "Nocturnal Invocation of the Innermost Necrostalgick Geist", whatever that's meant to be, done entirely on organ and synth with a delirious throbbing ambience. "A Crown Makes a Leech" throws the theremin, or a synthesiser that sounds much like it, into a lead instrument soaring overhead while guitars and pounding percussion scrabble and bang away in support. The title track which closes the album returns to a melodic black metal standard for the most part, embellished with piercing theremin drone and slightly nauseous organ melodies, and with yowling, shrieking vocals providing the icing on top of a song that ranges in mood from melancholy and wistful to triumphal and celebratory.

Although the album begins and ends fully committed to raw or melodic black metal, in individual songs the music ranges more or less between BM and influences from 1960s surf music and psychedelia which bring a crazed, even manic edge to the songs. Sometimes the derangement takes over a couple of tracks almost completely, but by then we're so immersed in Necrosferatul's distinctive and unique sonic universe, stamped with its own special brand of atmospheric psychedelic darkness, that when the keyboards take over from the guitars, it all seems completely normal and natural. This is a richly layered sound environment, where a desolate darkness, harsh roaring vocals and melancholy can co-exist with exuberant heavy metal riffs, hard-pounding drums and soaring siren hysterics. With songs jumping from one genre to another or blending genres together, choosing which is the best out of all of them comes down to personal preference: for me, "Carpathian Blood Waves" and the title track pip the rest with their particular idiosyncrasies.