Indestructible in Solitude

The three songs on Necrotroph's Indestructible In Solitude demo can be heard on the band's MySpace page.

Necrotroph combine a variety of styles to create their own melodic and technical death metal sound that hints at even greater things to come. There seems to be a scifi/fantasy concept in the lyrics and it feels as if there are marvelous unseen worlds lurking behind each song just waiting to be explored. If anything, this demo feels more like a three-song teaser for an upcoming full-length than just another band's first attempt at songwriting and recording. Even the production sounds on par with tech-death albums by bands such as Apotheosys, Element, and Nox.

"Infinite Dark Eternities" blasts you into the void from the start and launches into its first lead at just 27 seconds into the song. This solo sets the tone for the rest of the demo with its unpredictable melodies and odd rhythmic sense and is just a great moment where the listener can feel the brilliance that this band can achieve. A harmonized riff then transitions into a slower tempo which builds the song toward a thrash beat before the blast commences again. However, that's not the end of their forward motion in this track and certainly not over the course of the demo.

Every riff on Indestructible In Solitude is strong enough to stand alone and even more impressive when you consider the effort it must have taken to arrange them in such a seamless manner. "Serpents Beneath" features one of the best riffs of the bunch at the 58-second mark which is followed by an equally memorable harmony. The start-stop feel of the solo section that begins at 3:26 adds yet another unexpected flavor to this already rich song. The folkish melody played on top of a slow eighth-triplet rhythm in the title track is more akin to Airghed Lamh than to brutal death metal. This serves as an example of where Necrotroph's music could progress given their melodic sense and willingness to integrate different styles into their furious tech-death assault. This song is only a minute-and-a-half long and seems like a prologue for the next batch of Necrotroph songs.

Overall, Indestructible In Solitude is an impressive start. Judging by the description on their MySpace site, Necrotroph appear determined to cleanse the world tree of metal of all dilutions and clones and, as can be heard in the songs, their potential to do so is undoubtable. If they haven't found a new drummer yet, then I urge any drummer reading this who lives within driving distance of the band in Wilkes-Barre, PA and is dedicated to their craft and to expanding their skills to contact Necrotroph as soon as possible. This band is capable of greatness.