After more than 20 active years within the death metal scene, former Dismember/Carnage drummer Fred Estby needed to express his passion for different kinds of extreme music; a passion he’s bore since his youth. In 2008, Estby started writing/recording material with the intention of utilizing one unique vocalist for each song. Dubbed NECRONAUT, the project would become a reality just one year later when the drummer began contacting the many talented metal musicians he had in mind.

Estby is currently finalizing the self-titled NECRONAUT full-length, slated for release later this year via Regain Records. The already-completed cover art was created by Chet Zar, known for his makeup effects for movies such as The Ring, Planet of the Apes and Darkman. Musically, NECRONAUT is a raw slab of old-school metal and while the term “old-school” alone goes a long way in accurately describing the sound that one should expect from Estby and Co., the project is so much more. NECRONAUT‘s approach is crude and dead simple a la early Bathory and Venom fused with Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, but with an unorthodox, bass-heavy production that allows the album to stand out amongst its peers. The goal was primitive brute force, but because of the manner in which Estby chose to achieve it, he also managed to create an aura of pure malevolence that, prior to this album’s creation, was likely difficult to imagine. The list of musicians we want to mention for now includes:

Vocalists:
Chris Reifert (Abscess, Autopsy)
Hellbutcher (Nifelheim)
Tompa Lindberg (Disfear, Lock up)
Nicke Andersson (Imperial State Electric, ex-Entombed etc.)

Solo Guitarists:
Tyrant (Nifelheim, Dagger)
Uffe Cederlund (Disfear, ex-Entombed, Principals of Existence)
Robert Pehrsson (Death Breath, Dundertåget)
Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist (Dundertåget)
David Blomqvist (Dismember, Dagger)

Listen to “Infecting Madness”(feat. Chris Reifert on vocals) at the band’s official MySpace page.