Stream: Nekhrah – Cosmic Apostasy
The theme for today is groove. Thrashy groove. Thrashing death groove. There are times I love music to be overtly complex such that it takes careful attention to dissect all its facets, and there are times I want to drive around with the windows down and blare some of the head-banging-est death metal that I can find. Today, you and I can share in the enjoyment of the latter with a Toilet ov Hell exclusive album stream of Nekhrah‘s Cosmic Apostasy.
Cyprus exports Nekhrah started out in 2011 and all they have under their belt prior to this release is a 2014 demo under the name of Impalement (which is a fitting name too). If you click play on this album stream, and I highly recommend that you do, the first thing you’re going to notice is a slightly melodic take on death metal. Keep in mind I’m not labelling this as melodic death metal, rather an album which uses some melody here and there (chiefly present on “Foredoomed”) but is primarily driven by groove.
Nekhrah flirt with a small palette of different sub-genres of metal on this release, seamlessly transitioning from one style to another. The fifth track “The Face of Pain” is a great example of their skill in this department, bouncing between a more upbeat, punk-infused tempo and some bone-grinding riffs (it’s a term I use for describing bands who sound like Morbid Angel) delivered alongside pulverizing double-bass drums. But just when you think you’ve pegged the direction in which they’re headed in the song, they’ll surprise you with a bridge whose groove could stand next to some of the best Amon Amarth material. Immediately following is “Acts of Troth” which is a three-minute slit to the throat which features high-speed death metal chops and the occasional slow down to a Cannibal Corpse-like simmer, which turns out to be a pretty good description of many of the songs present here.
Pros:
- Cosmic Apostasy is the perfect length for a modern metal album: one intro and seven tracks, with not a moment of filler.
- Quality is consistent among all the songs. If you enjoy one, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the full thing.
- A’s vocal chops are like a shrieking banshee and give it a unique charm.
- The groove, man, the groove!
Many times these Soundcloud full album streams are front-heavy with the amount of listens, so give the whole thing a shot! Follow them on Facebook and Bandcamp, where Cosmic Apostasy will be released on September 29th.
