Echelon

A coworker of mine (apparently related to Rex - lead vocals and rhythm guitar) brought the Echelon EP into work for me to enjoy. Wasn’t really sure what to expect, and when I saw Necrotica attempted a mix of black and death metal styles, I was admittedly suspicious of what I was getting myself into. Fortunately, Echelon shows a lot of promise and proves Necrotica already has a firm idea of where they want to go with their music.

Necrotica describes itself as a “melodic, black influenced death metal band,” and that’s probably the best way to put it. Overall, it reminds me of what Belphegor might sound like with a stronger focus on the death metal influences. Raw, fast paced, and unrelenting. The band has also cited Emperor, Death, and Cannibal Corpse as influences just to name a few.

Rex attempts a deep growling vocal style and pulls it off pretty well. Justin on drums also provides backing vocals, but delivers more of a screech. When combined, the result sounds truly evil, and it’s an effect that fits beautifully with the overall feel and lyrical content of the music. Portions of the title track “Echelon,” “Arid Existence,” and “The Fourteenth Key” are particularly successful. The lyrics deal with themes ranging from one world government, Satanism, to sexual immorality. Portions of “Echelon” sound like talking points from a fundamentalist Christian sermon on the last days - RFID chips, dissolving borders and national sovereignty. Yet Necrotica’s tone is anything but sympathetic. “Tribulation? / There is no angry god just confrontation / World Damnation.” Awesome. “The Fourteenth Key” seems devoted to a ritual of the Church of Satan, while “Acrid Existence” preaches the inevitability of death.

The guitar work on Echelon is great, with near constant tremolo picking and fantastic leads and harmonies. There is a nice balance all around between speed and brutality on the one hand and melody on the other. I was also pleased to be able to actually hear the bass in many of the songs. The drumming, also painfully fast, is well done. While the songs are sufficiently dynamic in structure without compromising the brutality, there are some awkward moments of transition that stand out. One example is the intro to “The Fourteenth Key.” The song starts out with a really awesome slow paced guitars and drums. Suddenly, the drums burst into blast beats while the guitars, remaining the same, are now accompanied by some awesome bass lines. Then, all hell breaks loose. For a band that strives to be so uncompromisingly fast, the attempt at a slow build up seemed counterproductive and disjointed. If the song had a fadeout in the same vein it would have felt more cohesive.

All in all, Necrotica obviously invested a lot of time and effort in Echelon and it shows. Already these guys appear to have a firm idea of where they want to take their music. I can’t wait to see how their sound develops.