Necromancy - A Collection of Arcane Hexes

Necromantia / Necromanteion

Bad isn't a word I throw around too much. I often like to find some […]
By Keith "Zirra" Ham
May 1, 2014
Necromantia / Necromanteion - Necromancy - A Collection of Arcane Hexes album cover

Bad isn't a word I throw around too much. I often like to find some merit in the music I'm given. I mean, even when it comes down to the things I feel are senseless, like MERZBOW or anything MEGADETH has done in the past few years, there is still a great deal of effort put into these projects. I'm sure that MERZBOW has some sort of vision within all that insane noise and I'm sure that Dave Mustaine really does try - maybe a little too much. But, with this split "A Collection of Arcane Hexes" by NECROMANTIA and NECROMANCY - I am pretty sure the former half has absolutely no concern with effort.

I had a lot to say about NECROMANTIA, a lot about how much they generally suck in just about every way - from their lack of lyrical effort to their lack of Black Metal tropes at all. But, I'm going to keep this at a music-based standpoint rather than some crazy rant on how they couldn't really even care to hold their music up by the merits of corpse paint. Anyhow, to sum it up - what really kills NECROMANTIA is the horrifyingly bad vocals. I mean, the band quite literally puts on a scary voice and gives you wonderful accentuation of 'Guargleh!.' And I'm not talking about the vocals just sucking, I'm talking about them basically just being narration. What the hell. I've said it before but just because its Black Metal doesn't mean it has to suck. NECROMANTIA's half is complete and utter trash.

NECROMANCY, on the other hand, is a pretty good bit of music. There is even a surprisingly good cover of IRON MAIDEN's "Number Of The Beast" which really shows that this rough-around-the-edges BM band knows their shit. But, when I say rough - it's pretty rough. I personally can handle this very low budget form of Black Metal but I can honestly say that when you can basically hear when the mic is picked up and dropped after a take - it may not be for everyone. But, if you are listening to Black Metal - why on earth are you concerned with things like production values?

Seriously, if you are picking this up your best bet is to completely skip on the NECROMANTIA section and skip to the more substantial and enjoyable NECROMANCY section. Luckily, it seems like both have been included on seperate discs - almost like NECROMANCY wasn't quite sure if they wanted to fully associate themselves with NECROMANTIA at all.

 

5 / 10

Mediocre

"Necromancy - A Collection of Arcane Hexes" Track-listing:

Disc 1 (Necromantia)
1. Family of the Dog
2. De Magia Veterum (The Dawn Of Utter Darkness)
3. Faceless Gods
4. Evil Prayers
5. Lycanthropia
6. La Mort
7. Lord of the Abyss
8. The Feast of Ghouls
9. Evil Prayers
10. Lycanthropia

Disc 2 (Necromancy)
1. Thrashifixion
2. Shattered Bodies
3. Outbreak of Evil (Sodom Cover)
4. Frobidden Rites
5. Nocturnal Cry
(Necromantia)
6. Spiritforms of the Psychomancer
7. My World, Your Hell
8. Death Rider (Omen Cover)
9. The Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden Cover)
10. The DEmon's Whip (Manowar Cover)
11. Mordor (Running wild Cover)

Necromantia / Necromanteion Lineup:

Necromantia:

The Magus-Bass, Vocals
Baron Blood-8 String Bass, Bass Solos
Fotis Benardo-Drums

Necromancy:

Morbid- Bass
Unblessed- Drums
Hades- Guitar
Living Dead- Guitar, Vocals

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