UMUR "Necrovation" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Necrovation. The album was released through Agonia Recrods in June 2012. There´s been one lineup change since the band´s debut full-length studio album "Breed Deadness Blood" from 2008, as Necrovation have added a second guitarist to the ranks in Fredrick Almström, effectively making them a four-piece on this eponymously titled sophomore album.

"Breed Deadness Blood (2008)" featured an old school, yet quite adventurous, Swedish death metal style, and the material on this 9 track, 47:00 minutes long album continues and further develops that style. It´s raw and filthy old school death metal, but there is a level of sophistication and creativity in the songwriting that isn´t standard for the genre. Thankfully not in an arty farty progressive kind of fashion, but more in a way to make the music an adventurous and dynamic listen. I´m reminded slightly of some of the releases by fellow countrymen and contemporary artists Tribulation (their first two albums) and Morbus Chron.

The material on the album are generally well written and as mentioned above quite intriguing and adventurous, but it doesn´t mean the music is perfect through and through. Personally I could have wished for a few more instantly catchy and memorable riffs or vocals phrases, but for all its old school death metal glory "Necrovation" isn´t the most accessible release, and that´s both a good and a bad thing, probably depending on the ears who listen to it.

"Necrovation" features a raw, brutal, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts too, and upon conclusion "Necrovation" is a worthy follow-up album to "Breed Deadness Blood (2008)". The pairing of old school death metal authenticity and above standard creative songwriting ideas, work pretty well and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Breed Deadness Blood" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Necrovation. The album was released through Blood Harvest Records in February 2008. Necrovation were formed in 2003 and released several minor releases before being signed to Blood Harvest Records for the release of "Breed Deadness Blood".

Stylistically the music on "Breed Deadness Blood" is old school Swedish death metal, but with a twist. The twist is that there are quite a few more tempo changes in the band´s music than what you´ll normally hear when listening to an old school Swedish death metal release. It doesn´t sound forced or anything like that though, as the band very naturally shift pace and make the new sections part of the track they are playing. The many tempo changes are actually a great strength as they provide the otherwise somewhat generic music with variation, which ensures the attention of the listener. I think I hear something a bit more sinister and dark about the band´s music compared to some of the bigger Swedish acts from the early 90s, and because of that I´m often reminded of Norwegian artists like early Darkthrone and early Cadaver.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and the relatively intelligible growling vocals are well performed too. Another great asset on "Breed Deadness Blood" is the raw, yet detailed, and very powerful sound production. It´s so retro sounding you´ll find yourself thinking that this is 1991.

So is this a bit deriative? Well...yes it is somewhat retrospective in sound and style, but it´s so damn well performed and produced that it´s hard not to get carried away if you enjoy this type of music. If I have to mention a minor issue it would be that the material on the 9 track, 37:43 minutes long album is slightly one-dimensional and that it´s sometimes hard to tell the tracks apart. Of course repeated listens help, but it doesn´t change the fact that a few more catchy hooks would have made the album a bit more interesting. So I´m a bit biased here as I think Necrovation delivers old school Swedish death metal like it´s supposed to be delivered, but then again they add very little original or unique sounding to the genre, and that is a slight issue (along with the rather one-dimensional songwriting). So I think it speaks volumes of the quality of the album when I still think a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved, even though it´s certainly not a flawless release.

Time Signature Pulse of Towering Madness...

Genre: death metal

Necrovation's early releases were heralded for their old school raw death metal approach. Things have changed quite a bit since then, and the music on their eponymous sophomore effort is very different from the style of death metal they are known for.

We are still dealing with old school death metal with a lot of killer riffage, and there is a certain rawness to some of the passages in some of the songs (featuring blastbeats and the whole kit and kaboodle). However, these elements now figure just as components in a much bigger picture. Every track features a host of different riffs - some aggressive and brutal while others are quirky and kind of progressive (with a couple even having a Pestilence-like jazzy feel to them). Rather than the typical chaotic guitar solos of old school death metal (nothing wrong with them, by the way), Necrovation make use of very melodic guitar solos on this album, which work excellently with the rest of the music.

Interestingly, the guitars have more of a twang to them than the more typical brutality informed sound, but that is a plus in this case, as this twang goes well together with the compositions on the album. One thing that is particularly interesting is the use of simple stomping rhythms that create a nice contrast to the more quirky and out-there passages. Necrovation have definitely developed into a band capable of experimenting with various textures and expressions.

"Necrovation" is characterized by en eclectic eccentricism, and, for my money, it is an innovative and original death metal album.