Death Metal is often an unforgiving genre, with narrow boundaries that many bands are afraid to cross or even flirt with in some ways. Most fans want brutal punishment, devoid of melody and something that can snap their necks while headbanging. However, good bands in the genre always find a way to distinguish themselves in this regard. Let's talk about NEKHRAH here and find out what they are all about. Hailing from Nicosia, Cyprus, Death Metal quartet NEKHRAH formed in 2011, originally under the name of IMPALEMENT. They release a three track demo under that name, before re-grouping under the new moniker and working on their debut full-length. The new album, released in 2017, is titled "Cosmic Apostasy," and contains eight tracks.

"Acheron" sets the initial mood, with a short two-minute instrumental. Tones of mystery, suspense and evil are built from an eerie guitar riff and something pulsing in the background that sound like continual slides up and down the fretboard. The title track "Cosmic Apostasy" then slams in, with a fuzzy and low guitar riff, followed by raging Death vocals that are nearly completely unintelligible. The sound is ominous and desolate, but shifting here and there with some dexterous meter and riff changes. "Closed Casket Funeral" opens with a Thrashy type riff and a quicker pace. Incensed vocals speak of "I slice your flesh away, blood dripping down the blade, your bludgeoned skull hangs loose, limbs battered, torso bruised...maggots feast on your corpse, disintegrate your soul, the joy that I'll attend your closed casket funeral."

"Foredoomed" is a shorter affair, with a bit of a groove amidst the chaos. The vocals can vary greatly in range, but always with that scowl of something that builds in the diaphragm and is expunged from the vocal chords after what sounds like passing through a meat grinder. "Acts of Troth" refer to "faith and loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking." This three-minute scorcher features rapid machine gun firing drums and vocal wails that are long and intense enough to wake the entirety of the underworld. "Nekhrotise" spelled in proper English refers to the process of necrosis, where flesh is eaten from the inside and rots. There are a few different riffs in this brutally heavy track, keeping some variation going and some rhythm changes that break up some of the intensity. "Let There Be Nothing" is the final act, where the dead rise and consume all of humanity until there is indeed nothing left.

All of the elements of Death Metal that you have come to like are here. The wildcard for me is the vocals. You are either going to like them or not care for them, and their prominence in the music carries much of the overall sound, so there is no reprieve from them. I personally like the versatility in the vocals but sometimes that deeply throaty sound was hard to hear over and over. But, certainly worth your time to check out the album.