Warthur To my ears the Codex Necro at first sounded like a fairly straight ahead black metal album, and for much of its running time that's exactly what it is, but it pays off attentive listening well. Anaal Nathrakh's core duo consist of talented multi-instrumentalist Irrumator and impassioned screaming frontman VITRIOL, and what's clear from a listen to this is that whilst this is a consciously black metal-oriented album, the pair were also paying close attention to what was going on in grindcore and the more industrial-influenced side of metal at the time.

With these influences creeping in around the edges like rust corroding the seal on a drum of toxic waste, Anaal Nathrakh are able to invest their black metal attack with a set of textures that previously hadn't been heard much in a black metal context, but in retrospect really helped establish the tone they were going for. The band show a particular knack for getting the most out of the studio without their work appearing overly sanitised as a result of that, and on the whole the debut sets a strong foundation for an auspicious career to come.

UMUR "The Codex Necro" is the debut full-length studio album by UK, Birmingham based extreme metal act Anaal Nathrakh. The album was released through Mordgrimm Records in November 2001. Anaal Nathrakh was formed by Irrumator aka Mick Kenney (all instruments) and V.I.T.R.I.O.L. aka Dave Hunt (vocals) in 1998 (bassist Leicia was also briefly a member of the lineup in the demo days). The band released a couple of 1999 demos ("Anaal Nathrakh" and "Total Fucking Necro") and the 2000 compilation "Total Fucking Necro" (a compilation of their two demos), before recording "The Codex Necro".

Stylistically the music on "The Codex Necro" is a combination of black metal, grindcore, and industrial metal elements. It´s a pretty extreme and very intense listening experience. Fast blasting programmed drums, high speed black metal type tremolo picking, and raw screaming distorted vocals in front. It´s not your regular raspy black metal croak though, but a far more extreme type of screaming, which at times sounds like someone is torturing V.I.T.R.I.O.L.. It´s a punishing listen and initially also a rather chaotic one. Initially it may also come off slightly one-dimensional, but the longer into the album you get, it becomes obvious that Anaal Nathrakh is not a one trick pony. Haunting atmosheres, heavy riffs ("The Technogoat" and "Incipid Flock"), and industrial darkness ("Paradigm Shift - Annihilation") are some of the elements which make "The Codex Necro" a more diverse listening experience than it may initially appear to be.

The album is well produced (including the programmed drums), featuring a raw, unpolished, and powerful sound, which suits the equally raw and brutal asssault of the music perfectly. This is not for the faint at heart, and even seasoned extreme metal listeners might find this a very extreme listen, but examined a bit more thoroughly it´s also a relatively sophisticated and clever album. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.