Review: “You’ve Got Red On You” by Necronomicon Ex Mortis and Bloodfeast Ritual

A nightmarish vision from inception, “You’ve Got Red On You” finds Necronomicon Ex Mortis and Bloodfeast Ritual seeking to outdo each other over the duration of the split EP. Behind the scenes, Charlie Waymire (Speak No Evil, Tarja, Behold! The Monolith) of Ultimate Studios handled engineering, mixing and production before Ernesto Homeyer completed the mastering with both bands benefitting from the assistance in their crimes against humanity…

It’s been five long years since we heard anything from Bloodfeast Ritual, their 2020 EP “Altars of Sacrifice” their last shot in anger and with good reason as vocalist David Ainsworth focused on Our Dying World, guitarist and bassist Hunter Gurney on Ghost Hour while drummer Joey Ferretti and guitarist Michael Bala have been cleaving flesh from bone with Necronomicon Ex Mortis. The groups are separated by style with Bloodfeast Ritual specialising in Progressive Death Metal inspired by the likes of Atheist and Blood Incantation while offering listeners a world of existential dread and cosmic horror. That’s in part because Gurney is the main songwriter of the outfit with Bala having that role in the other band.

Bloodfeast Ritual get the party started with a concrete slab of Old School Death Metal in “Soul Annihilation“, a bass solo from Hunter Gurney followed by a Death Thrash one by Michael Bala chemically enhancing the tasty morsal. A tale of a demon feasting on your mind, it burns gloriously, the raw approach with bombastic bass making it the kind of cut that is utterly timeless. Their second cut is something almost entirely different with John Carpenter movie inspired synths giving  “Decaying Humanity” a chilling introduction. The near ten minute magnum opus then grinds into life with throat splitting vocals and distorted guitars but it’s not long before the quartet then wander into Progressive Metal territory with gentle haunting guitars and the eerie winds of plague. The melody is broken by blast beats as the Zombie apocalypse comes to life with a rampage of tasteful whammy bar action and technical riffs that effectively give you three captivating movements within a single vessel. Bala offers not one but two sprawling solos before the final onslaught, his title of riff lord completely justified before the haunting synths rise from the grave once more [8/10]

Since their self titled EP dropped in 2023, Chicago Death Metal act Necronomicon Ex Mortis have hammered out five EPs in two years while remaining true to themes of low budget 70’s and 80’s horror movies, comics and H.P. Lovecraft with a serious amount of shred. The aforementioned guitarist Michael Bala is the main song writer and lyricist of the project and is joined by Bloodfeast Ritual drummer Joey Ferretti, guitarist Manuel Barbará, vocalist Craig Schmuhl and bassist Yusuf Rashid.

While on the surface it may look like Necronomicon Ex Mortis dominate “You’ve Got Red On You” with four tracks, in reality the split is a lot closer when you look at the duration of the material. A cinematic introduction piece “The Music Of Eric Zahn” that fuses together orchestration and programming with a chillingly haunting melody provides a three minute interlude of pure evil unlike anything the quintet have offered up before. Thankfully they’re back to their old tricks with the violent delight that is “Bound In Human Flesh“, the axe wielding duo of Bala and Barbará trading solos throughout. The barked backing vocal of “Bound! Bound!” becomes almost a gang chant by the end and you can’t help but warm to the impeccable musicianship. Naturally that continues into “Unspeakable Swamp Creature” with a solo appearing before the first verse of this classic hammer horror storyline. The truth is that Necronomicon Ex Mortis have reached the point where they could branch out and write their own horror film and then score it. That’s how good their storytelling abilities have become and when you thrown in the sonic grenade of a progressive movement that bursts into yet another vibrant, virtuoso solo it makes you wonder how long it will be before a major label like Metal Blade Records snaps them up. Is there no end to their talents? Seemingly not as grand finale “Misery” ensures the nightmare never ends. Playing with tempo and texture this one pushes their boundaries a little further, the flaming leads enhancing the atmosphere of perpetual darkness. Spellbinding riffs keep the fires burning but the throat splitting vocals will leave you unsure if the bark is worse than the bite [9/10]

1. Soul Annihilation (Bloodfeast Ritual)
2. Decaying Humanity (Bloodfeast Ritual)
3. The Music Of Eric Zahn (Necronomicon Ex Mortis)
4. Bound In Human Flesh (Necronomicon Ex Mortis)
5. Unspeakable Swamp Creature (Necronomicon Ex Mortis)
6. Misery (Necronomicon Ex Mortis)

“You’ve Got Red On You” by Necronomicon Ex Mortis and Bloodfeast Ritual is out 21st February 2025 and is available over at bandcamp