1st July 2024

Review: “You and Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over” by Necronomicon Ex Mortis

Born from the mind of guitarist, songwriter and lyricist Michael Nystrom Bala, who harboured a deep desire to combine elements of classic Death Metal and 80s shred worship in a technical style with gory lyrics about low budget horror movies, Necronomicon Ex Mortis have been a bright star in the night sky above Chicago for the past couple of years. Joined by guitarist Manuel Barbara, bassist Yusuf Rashid, drummer Joey Ferretti and vocalist Craig Schmuhl – none of whom had anything better to do – thus far the five piece have cranked out not one but two EPs in the past 12 months. Their February 2023 self titled record set the tone before August 2023 saw them deliver “Silver Bullet“, an affair which took things to a whole new realm of high-octane, heavy and yet cheese laden horrors. So what does chapter three of their great adventure offer?

A bass heavy mix gives Rashid the opportunity to shine as “My Bloody Valentine” appears on the horizon with the distinctive stench of old school Death Metal influence as rapid fire riffs fly from the fretboards with ease. Schmuhl sounds like he just stepped out of a low budget horror movie featuring Chris Barnes as his vocal coach while a couple of solos bring the heat of napalm to the track and the result is something that is exceptionally good, ticking all the boxes for what you’d expect from this band based on their prior convictions. “Leprechaun” then steps up the technicality of the riffs and soloing with a Nekrogoblikon like sense of melody; the restless and relentless drumming from Ferretti masterfully done. Schmuhl deserves a lot of credit for bringing Bala’s lyrics to life, he’s got the storytelling abilities needed to do that, which is something not to be underestimated. His demonic performance on “In the Mouth of Madness” is a whole new level of brutality with elongated throat scraping moments as the guitars chug and lurch between swampy, dirge laden passages. While the band go lower, slower, deeper and darker than ever before, the tempo is still good so you have an undeniable sense of groove before a colossal solo is hit out of the park.

There are a couple of tracks where the intro seems to have been cut at the start so you’re kind of launched into it headlong, something more obvious with “The Dead Zone“. A cut with a haunting melody that borders on the unhinged that leads into yet another award winning flamboyant solo, it is one that could happily appear on the soundtrack to the next Robert Rodriguez classic. Honestly, it’s hard to fathom how Necronomicon Ex Mortis aren’t signed to Metal Blade Records and lined up for the Summer Slaughter tour. One more VHS nasty is left on the top shelf for viewing after midnight in “Jason Lives” and frontloaded with speedy Death Metal riffs it’s as much of a headbangers delight and the earlier compositions are. A mid track slowdown for a bass solo is cleverly worked, the growled vocals monstrous before the guitars and drums come back in. Ugly but on the tasteful side, this is a timeless slab of Death Metal which technical solos aside could have surfaced at any point over the past 40 odd years and yet doesn’t sound dated even for a second. Essential listening. [8.5/10]

Track Listing