Review Summary: Ritualistic death metal for those seeking the darker things in life.
“The end has come. All light, begone!”
After the intro to this album ends, the listener hears these words growled from vocalist/guitarist Mors Al Ra. By this time listeners will already have an idea of what to expect from this nearly two hour journey into darkness. Being that this is a triple album, time should be set aside to truly experience what this album has to offer. Split into what Ra calls three “altars”, each with nine songs. The nine songs on each altar are split between three “temples”, three “gates”, and three standard songs. Without looking like a fool by trying to explain the meaning behind all of the symbolism and imagery, its safe to say that this album contains as much occultism as any listener could want.
Much like their previous albums, Necros Christos created a blend of doom and death metal that is entirely their own. The playing on these songs is wonderfully tight and polished. Where some albums suffer from a clash of styles brought about by trying to attain both atmosphere and speed or aggression,
Domedon Doxomedon does not. Balancing sections of intense double bass drumming and furious riffing with sections of doom metal in the same song is not an easy task. Despite this, Necros Christos managed to not only find harmony between the two styles, but excel at the task.
The image conjured by this album is one of a ritual performed only in front of those deemed worthy of witnessing such an act. While many listeners may initially picture satanic demon worship, many of the themes present on this album are taken from Muslim and Christian theology as well as a heavy emphasis on Jewish Kabbalah mysticism. An incredibly refreshing change from the typical “hail satan” style of occultism. Part of the reason
Domedon Doxomedon has this incredible sense of atmosphere is due to the fact that Ra is a true believer in what he writes about. He has immersed himself in the religious and mystical alike and infused his knowledge of the occult within all aspects of this album, from the music itself, to the packaging and lyrics.
A concern many prospective listeners may have are the eighteen separate temples and gates. While these tracks may not contain any death metal in them, they wonderfully supplement the already mystical death metal tracks as they too are steeped with a powerful feeling of some divine wisdom. Additionally, with the average length of each song being almost nine and a half minutes long, there is more than enough of the album for listeners to listen to if they decide to skip the gates and temples.
Necros Christos have created one of the greatest albums in the last few years and have created their own unique facet of death metal that stands out amongst the multitude of releases in the past few years. However, as great as this album is, it has been swept under by the waves of new metal releases that have been published by bands with either more fame or more luck than this band has had.
