Here we have a funeral doom band from Italy who call themselves Necropoli, and their new 5-song album is titled I. This is slow, ponderous, haunting stuff, with huge riffs, keyboards, and growling vocals making up the bulk of what is on display. Opener "Ashes of My Soul" sets the tone for what is to come, a chilling doom laden slice of depressive death metal, and "Inner Space" throws in some industrial elements into the crushing formula. By the third song "A Step", you begin to see that the band isn't going to deviate much from what they've already exposed to you, as the behemoth riffing never ends and the creepy soundscapes keep hanging over the proceedings. The songs are long...real long, to the point where some might be begging for the brevity of "Curriculum Vitae", especially after the monolithic 17-minute "Silence Awaits Me", which, despite a wealth of pretty cool riffs, atmosphere, and eerie vocals, is probably 10 minutes longer than it needs to be. I'm not a big fan of the vocals on this album, as the unintelligible growls, moans, and rasps just kind of float out there, not really adding anything nor providing any real sense of menace, which is a shame as I think more forceful use of vocals might have really given these tunes the extra edge that they really needed. Overall, not a bad debut by any means, but one that I feel just misses the mark a bit.
Track Listing
1) Ashes of My Soul
2) Inner Space
3) A Step
4) Silence Awaits Me
5) Curriculum Vitae
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
