ANAAL NATHRAKH — The Codex Necro (review)

ANAAL NATHRAKH — The Codex Necro album cover Album · 2001 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
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.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Love this album. Just picked up a couple other releases recently. Really good band.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Asbestos Tiles Hardcore Punk
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lysergic Ritual Sludge Metal
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Terra Preta Sludge Metal
TITANOBOA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Endless Suffering Sludge Metal
LØV
Buy this album from MMA partners
Beyond The Shed Sludge Metal
SINICYST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 1 day ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 2 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed