24th November 2024

Review: “The Mother Of Death” by Necronomicon Ex Mortis

At this point we’re beginning to run out of ways to describe the work of Necronomicon Ex Mortis without treading on previous ground, such is the prolific nature of the bands output. Formed in Chicago in 2022, the five piece are now on their fourth EP releasing two in 2023 and two in 2024, their combination of 80’s low budget horror film themed lyrics inspired by Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker alongside technical Death Metal riffs and 80’s shred one that has gained them plenty of attention. The band’s line-up of guitarist and lyricist Michael Nystrom Bala, guitarist Manuel Barbara, bassist Yusuf Rashid, vocalist Craig Schumul and drummer Joey Ferretti are an incredibly tight group of players with excellent chemistry.

Hitting hard from the very outset “Trick Or Treat” points a finger at the 90’s golden era of Death Metal as inspiration with glorious leads and brutal vocals. A tongue in cheek humour quality to a tale of hollowing out skulls to create grotesque jack-o-lanterns works incredibly well, so much so that you could see Ice Nine Kills covering it at some point in the future. The face melting solo is a touch of quality and in all honesty it feels like the band didn’t leave the studio after recording “You and Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over“, the verve, swagger, style and grace of this one adding to the impeccable musicianship. Inspired by the video game Dishonored, the restless and relentless “Infestation” increases the intensity dramatically. Back to back solos in the mid section are sublime, the first slightly off kilter to add a touch of insanity, the second more controlled and classical and then the blast beats hit like machine gun fire at close range.

The riff laden madness continues into title track “Mother Of Death“, a chilling tale of a cult leader loosely based on The Conjuring 3. Incorporating some Groove Thrash moments adds a spice that’s nice as the band continue to deliver the kind of spellbinding music that makes you wonder why exactly they don’t have a major label deal and aren’t touring the globe. That’s testament to how good this is, the solo in the final moments blowing the mind before one last lethal verse. Instrumental “Itchy Tasty” is a tribute to Resident Evil, offering the band’s take on save room music over 92 seconds and works well, the five piece pushing their boundaries to see what they can come up with that is outside of their usual comfort zone. “Salem’s Lot” then pays homage to Stephen King’s iconic novel and the 1979 TV movie adaptation with Melodic Death Metal leads galore. Spellbinding and sassy with virtuoso playing of the highest order, somehow they manage not to kill the storyline of the song, instead capturing the magic of it in a way that should inspire a few who haven’t had the pleasure to go and check out the original story. There is simply no stopping Necronomicon Ex Mortis at this point, they’re a well oiled machine who know exactly what they’re doing. We just pray that they don’t water down their sound in an attempt to be come more “accessible” to chase a deal because what they are now is perfection [9/10]