Vehemency
Necronomicon Ex Mortis showcases 13 tracks of Todesweihe’s back catalogue, which means almost 70 minutes of basic German underground black metal with no compromises. Sounds interesting? If not, there’s no reason to continue reading, as I’m sure that this kind of stripped-down simplicity with no innovation whatsoever is a thing you either really like or have no interest in at all.
First up is the demo Nachtmahre dating back to 2004, offering four tracks of hateful black metal with relatively warm production and a short interlude with clean guitars. Drums batter a stable blast beat almost throughout, though ”Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung” and ”Das Sterben” realize to provide even some slower variation to the game too, the former being a highlight of the demo.
Nachts am alten Friedhow, an EP from 2008, follows next with two songs of which the first, ”Return of the Necromancer”, differs a little from the other songs on the compilation, as the drums are programmed and the whole sound is overall clumsier, but it’s actually charming and somewhat refreshing because of its difference in comparison to the other songs. "Das Schloss", taken from the 2010 seven inch split with Leichengott is another highlight of the CD with its most ingenious riffs of the whole bunch.
As Flittermice as Satans Spys, a Darkthrone cover - surprise surprise - is done well but has little worth. Yeah, I’m not the biggest lover of covers even in general, especially when it comes to Darkthrone, Burzum &co covers that have been done a million times in the past. Four live tracks end the compilation, the sound being really harsh, definitely not for audiophiles. There’s still some charm in these raw pieces - that are most likely recorded from the audience - as the high-pitched raspy screams sometimes overwhelm the whole picture with their tortured sound.
For lovers of the German underground, Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a logical release to buy to get to hear most of Todesweihe’s previous output; for a general black metal listener that might want to hear even something refreshing, better avoid this. I’m leaning toward a decent rating: while the band certainly knows what they’re doing, truly sweet moments are too infrequent here to really arouse my interest to listen to this again and again.