NECROPHAGIST — Epitaph (review)

NECROPHAGIST — Epitaph album cover Album · 2004 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
topofsm
For those uninitiated, Necrophagist's Muhammed Suiçmez may very well be the most technically proficient guitarist in all of death metal. While death bands are well known to be some of the most technical players, busting out a solo doesn't always fit best with the brutal mood they should be conveying. That is why Necrophagist stood out so much when they were active, with refined neo-classical shredding all over the place. With both their albums they may have very well started the tech-death movement we're so familiar with today.

Epitaph improves greatly upon what Onset of Putrefaction introduced. While the first record was indeed technical, it suffered from slightly muddier production and some songwriting that was far more repetive than it needed to be. Epitaph varies the songwriting, tempoes, and moods enough to keep the listener excited. That being said, many people do tire of the endless technicality and some of the non-stop shredding, so that may be a turn off.

The songs' solos should keep the listener entertained, though. There's a solo on each track and they all tend to be highlights of the track. While there's no real iconic solo like the one on "Fermented Offal Discharge" off the previous album, this one still has some pretty cool ones, even if they do tend to sound similar. "Diminished to B", perhaps in a bit of music nerd humor features a very baroque and neo-classical influenced solo that seems to trade in a bit of over the top attitude for some melody and emotion. The one off "Symbiotic in Theory" also is a lengthy one that closes the album off nicely.

Other highlights include the opener, "Stabwound", which is fast paced and energetic and feature some cool sweeping licks in between the verse and the chorus, and some neat drums playing around during the solo. "Epitaph" starts off very simple and fast paced, which should hook the more casual listener, but based on the rest of the album you can guess where it leads to.

All in all, Epitaph is a pretty impressive show. It's one of the most important albums in the tech death scene for a good reason. It does have the tendency to leave listeners cold, but for those who love tech death they should find Epitaph a most enjoyable listen.
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