Hailing from Italy, where Black Metal seems to thrive, is something just a little different: ECNEPHIAS - which carries the claim of being Dark Occult Metal (though also labels itself as melodic Black / Death Metal).  NECROGOD (a fitting title) is their fourth full-length album. Full of tales involving all manner of pagan lore, interesting woodwind inclusions, and a guest appearance from ROTTING CHRIST's Sakis's - ENCEPHIAS really breaks into some interesting, though not exactly 'dark', territory.

When I first listened through this album there was something I felt wasn't right, at times it felt somewhat silly, somewhat too melodic for its own good. I'll be honest and say I almost simply through NECROGOD to the pre-Christian gods in which it pays tribute. However, I soon discovered my problem: volume. Yes, NECROGOD has a strange mix which when on low volumes has a habit of masking the backing tracks. This made me feel like the vocals were completely ridiculous. So, to remedy this I place on my headphones and blared it to the max. Though some awkward moments on the second track "The Temple of Baal-Seth" definitely exist, as it is most certainly not the albums best track, NECROGOD's poorer moments became far less apparent - that being said, I was privy to what ENCEPHIAS was offering up to me (Virgins no doubt).

First off, I will admit that when it comes to any manner of Death Metal, I am usually not a fan of strategic breaks to create melody - or light and sparkly guitar pandering. ENCEPHIAS has however managed to make me accept this sort of arrangement with NECROGOD. That being said, the 'Black' or 'Death' elements of this album are somewhat washed away and create more of a gothic sound akin to the likes of MOONSPELL (The songs "Ishatar" and "Anubis" feels almost like lost tracks off of either IRRELIGIOUS or DARKNESS AND HOPE). Basically, NECROGOD is almost entirely melodic and only death in the sense of vocal style. The lyrical content basically holds up whatever small touch of 'black' is involved.

NECROGOD's strong points very much lie within the excellent execution of experimental elements. A good deal of this album deals with woodwind and piano work combining with some basic but great riffs and some only-okay vocal work. Almost every single track combines these elements and for the most part does it quite well.

In the end, I wasn't sure why I like ENCEPHIAS's NECROGOD. There are some flawed moments - the vocals are sometimes goofy, the pacing is sometimes far too slow, and the balance for vocal/music is at times awfully uneven. Good points obviously exist - experimental execution is excellent, things I hadn't liked before suited NECROGOD, guitar work was simple and great, and the idea behind the album was almost enough to keep me interested. NECROGOD is an okay release, not the greatest. It certainly isn't as dark as it claims but it is interesting.