Necromancing the Stone: Jewel of the Vile

Necromancing the Stone is a new band that features of members of Arsis, The Absence, The Black Dahlia Murder and Brimstone Coven and their debut full length release is entitled, Jewel of the Vile (Metal Blade Records). Besides their name being an obvious tongue in cheek spin at a classic 80's movie, the band itself pays homage to Metal of the past, with a modern edged twist and doing their best to not create music that is of the same ilk of the bands that they come from. What you get is almost an hour of adrenaline fueled music.

Jewel of the Vile is a nod to the Old School Metal of the '80's with a newer Metallic spin on it. Riffs are tight and aplenty with Thrash and Melodic Death Metal type riffage going on, while "Big" John Williams delivers his clean vocals over top. Tunes like, "The Old One", "The Siren's Call" and album opener "Crusher", all seem to be written for the Headbanger with enough reckless abandon to please. One of the true gems is the moody, "Ritualistic Demise", which features a shred-o-licious solo from Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, ex-Nevermore).

With heaps of riffs and a super heavy and tight rhythm section, Necromancing the Stone offer a good, but slightly disappointing debut full length record. Songs are heavy and riff heavy, as mentioned, but songs on a whole are slightly forgettable and not all that engaging. Musical performances are spot on, but I feel that it is Williams' vocals that are the culprit here. Not that his vocals are poor, but more that his actual vocal timbre is kind of weak for the overall heaviness of the music. All and all, Jewel of the Vile is a good start for this "side project".

Necromancing the Stone:
"Big" John Williams - Vocals
James Malone - Guitars
Justin Wood - Guitars
Ryan Williams - Bass
Jeramie Kling - Drums

Track Listing

1. Crusher
2. Bleed for the Night
3. The Descent
4. The Siren's Call
5. Ritualistic Demise
6. The Old One
7. Rotted Reunion
8. Unfinished Business
9. Honor Thy Prophet
10. From Graves to Infamy
11. The Battle of Morningstar

Added: September 6th 2016
Reviewer: Butch Jones
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1490
Language: english

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