Formed in 1988, Goreaphobia can be said to one of the early death metal bands, and, having operated primarily on the underground scene, they also belong to the more obscure of death metal acts. On Apocalyptic Necromancy, they retain their old school death metal style. In fact, most of the tracks are soe old school that some listeners might not even recognize them as death metal, as Goreaphobia take their starting point in death metal as it sounded back when it was in a transitory state between thrash metal and death metal – so, I suppose the most fitting description could be death-thrash. But then again, it's not like this release is a purely primitive and dirty thrash metal release, which is really what a lot of early death metal was. I actually find this release to be a quite varied one in terms of musical impressions.
The opening track is a frenzied tech death metal track with blasbeats and headspinning changes between numerous different riffs, and there are even sections that have a sort of black metal feel to them. 'Xurroth Rreeth N'ves Helm' is a heavy galloping thrasher with an almost melodi Megadeth-esque bridge and a heavy melodic guitar solo, while 'The Attractor' is a crossover thrashy, almost crusty punkish, and 'Igigi Reactor' is more of a speed/thrash metal track. There are also several heavy doom-laden tracks which are neatly distributed among the more uptempo death-thrash tracks, and then there is the more experimental dark rock tune 'White Wind Spectre' which even contains what sounds like slide guitar. The closing track 'Rust Worms and the Noxious Fevers They Bring' starts out an old school death metal onslaught with simple, but effective, death metal tremolo riffs and aggressive drumming, and then morphs into a more crossover thrash affair with both crust punk-like riffage and crushingly heavy doom-laden sections, and, in a way, this track summarizes all the musical influences on this album. Despite all the different elements on this album, I would not say that it sounds like a mess, as Goreaphobia – through consistency in production and the way that the tunes are composed – manage to present this album as a coherent and consistent release that never loses focus.
The vocals, while guttural in nature, are not really growled but have a more snarling character, and they complement the distorted guitars – which, while distorted, are not overly brutal or noisy (they do have a retro thrash metal sound though) – quite well in the mix. The drums have a well-defined but organic sound to them, and the bass is audible.
Apocalyptic Necromancy is a snapshot of death metal as it was in when it was in its stage of transition between thrash metal and death metal, but Goreaphobia add a lot of elements from more modern metal genres – and even some stuff from outside of metal – which makes this a focused, yet varied, listen which is bound to inspire a lot of headbanging and moshing.
Track Listing:
1. Apocalyptic Necromancy
2. Xurroth Rreeth N'Vez Helm (City of Rot and Decay)
3. The Attractor
04. Void Of The Larva Queen
5. Shroud of The Hyena
6. Footpaths In The Vortex of Doom
7. Darkstar Dementia
8. Igigi Reactor
9. Totem Of The Vulture
10. Sigil On Death's Hand
11. White Wind Spectre
12. Rust Worms And The Noxious Fevers They Bring
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