To followup on the earlier review of Cemetery Lust’s re-issue of Screams of the Violated, I think it’s about time to cover the more obscure work from Necromancy. Ancient Wrath is an MLP recorded by Necromancy in 1991 and until now has yet to see the light of day. The band was only active from 1986 to 1992 due to guitarist/vocalist Living Dead dying from a heart attack. RIP Living Dead.

“Ancient Wrath 1” and “Ancient Wrath 2” both establish early that these guys are proficient in horror synth. After long eerie interludes they settle into simple death metal riffs and the tinny guitar sounds of black metal. The problem is, once settled into actual music the whole thing just feels like one big loop and gets old quickly. The vocals are a garbled growl with a bothersome hissing effect in the pronunciation. It is 24 years old so it’s possibly from the mix in the recording. These two tracks combined are nearly 15 minutes that could have been shaved to 4, and thus would have avoided the risk of turning stale.

The final track “Forbidden Rites” hones in on the horror synth aspect and comes off like a soundtrack instead of a death metal song. The riffing and drumming take a backseat to the chime and bell sound effects and, to a large degree, the vocals. When the music comes through it leaves a bit to be desired and sounds like a band trying to find its sound and its footing. I give the song, and the album for that matter, a grade A for the horrific feel but not so much for anything else.

– Josh

Ancient Wrath is available now on Nuclear War Now Productions. For more information on Necromancy visit the band’s Metal Archives page.