Necrowretch, from France, return with their fourth long-player, The Ones From Hell. I have been a huge fan of the band since their ripping 2013 debut Putrid Death Sorcery and have reviewed all their albums and interviewed singer/guitarist Vlad years ago.

Their last album Satanic Slavery was a massively intense album-and saw the band break further away from the death metal smatterings that have been across their albums and go full steam ahead playing brutal black metal.

8 songs in 37 minutes and the band opens with the longest song on the album and longest of the band’s career-“Pure Hellfire” at 6:54, the song showcases a melodic side to Necrowretch as the song opens with a brooding instrumental intro and it’s a slow burn as the music gradually gets more intense and at the 2.10 moment goes full on blast mode. Insane brutality and Vlad is in top form as the brutality is relentless. The isolated guitar part early on and then right back into the blast is a Holy Shit moment for sure. Some slower moments enter the picture-mid-pace section with some excellent drum rolls. The guitar riffing over this section showcases Necrowretch allowing the riffs to breathe a little more, right before the isolated guitar riff goes right back into the blast. Some more melodic and dare I say middle-eastern guitar moments enter the picture and this song has an epic and expansive quality that the band foreshadowed on their last release with some of their longer songs. There is a lot going on in “Pure Hellfire” and this is an excellent opener equipped with some very cool and ethereal guitar soloing at the end of the track.

The title track has more of that melodic edge to the guitar riffing and I tell you it really gives Necrowretch that jump towards improving as musicians and songwriters. Melody is ok-everyone!!! The song gets into some mid-paced steamrolling heaviness and Vlad berates us with his razor sharp vocals and the song does have quite a flair especially with some of Vlad shrieks. The song has some catchy vocal layering and excellent drumming. Of course the song picks up pace going for a more death/thrash fast beat and this part at the 3.20 mark really sounds like something off their awesome debut album. It’s a great homage to it.

“Codex Obscuritas” has a lot of slow and pained vocals and the song is slower in nature and is drenched in atmosphere. Excellent chorus over the melodic riffing-super catchy. The guitar riffing toward the end of the song is excellent, quite heavy and a little pinch harmonic to slice you right down the middle for good measure. Plenty of other great songs and the band ends the album with the aptly titled “Necrowretch” with plenty of agonizing opening screams before the song erupts into a brutal death thrash beat. So many wild shrieks on this song sound as if Vlad is being impaled in hell. Super powerful ending song.

The Ones From Hell shows Necrowretch’s growth as a band. This is what you have to expect on a band’s fourth album and if they want to stay relevant in the extreme metal scene. You have to be able to expand your sound and develop from when you released your first album. If you become stagnant you will still retain fans but are you gaining any new ones, is the question I ask? The expansive qualities, the embracing of melody and blending it in with their pure savagery makes The Ones From Hell one hell of a dynamic blackened death metal album. Not much remains of the death metal sounds, as the black metal is center stage, but it’s still there and I noticed some sprinklings of classic metal throughout the album as well-which I absolutely love.

Necrowretch has once again released an ass-kicking album from start to finish and the continued maturation of this band leaves me impressed. Buy or get thrown Through the Black Abyss!

[Visit the band's website]

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