EVIL DAMN originated in Peru, where a collective of musicians from other established projects banded together with one clear vision; to create the darkest most ferocious black metal possible! The band promise to deliver metal that is a throwback to a golden era for the genre, back when the emphasis was on thunderous guitar riffs, blazing blast beasts, and demonic vocalizations.

"The Curse" opens with a rather interesting scenic sound bite. With the rain and thunder, it sounds as though this was recorded in the middle of a forest! That would be awesome if it was. The music hits and we're treated to some blackened thrash style metal. I'm enjoying the grooves laid down by the guitars whilst the drummer assaults the kick drum with some impressive speed. The roar of what seems to be a possessed lion or demon opens the next track, "Beast Of Rlyeh". Similar to the previous song, we see a solid blackened thrash metal style guitar groove with some impressive drum work. The vocalist shows off his versatility with an ear piercing shriek that's at least 3 octaves above the range of most men! Fantastic!

"Ceremonial Decimation" features by far the best guitar work of the album for me, or at least my favourite riffs. Especially with the highly technical solo that closes the song! The dirty and distorted bass solo in the middle of "Graveless Cadaver" is the highlight for me. I found this interesting because this isn't what I'd normally associated with the early 90s black metal sound, so it seems like a relatively modern addition to a traditional sounding album. "Darkness Will Remain" features the return of the wailing Tom Araya style scream, which was still impressive but didn't quite have the shock factor the first time I heard it. Both this track and "Alatares De Innsmouth" feature the groovy and catchy guitar riffs that have become a cornerstone on this album. Sadly however, it starts to feel repetitive and it's hard for any of the songs to feel unique at this stage. Although some of the guitar leads for "Alatares De Innsmouth" are impressive and show off his skills.

Likewise with "Shaitan", whilst there is some very skilled instrumentation, it doesn't feel like the album is progressing at this stage and it's becoming harder to become invested and sustain interest. It feels far too cookie cutter. The title track to the album "Necronomicon" and is over 12 minutes in length. I'm an aficionado for doom and progressive metal so I'll normally happily listen to songs of this length and even longer! However, I thought "do I really want to listen to 12 minutes of this?", especially when the band haven't demonstrated an ability to evolve their sound and style throughout the album. The band had the right idea in the middle of the song. The pace slows to a glacial drip for a few minutes and the clean ominously sounding guitar passages are what's needed to demonstrate that the band can offer new ideas and a different musical texture.

The final track "Christ Death" is, from my understanding, a cover from one of the member's other bands. It seems unusual to me, as bands typically cover much more established bands. If they were going to cover anybody, "Satyricon", "Bathory" or any of the bands idols would have been a more logical choice. Overall, there's some very impressive instrumentation and musical talent on display. It's just a shame that the band seem to be trying too hard to replicate the sound of their heroes and recreate that magic instead of focusing on forging their own style and sound.