Of all the other Purgatory-ies this is the German one. Those guys aren’t new to the Death Metal scene – they exist since 1993 and ‘Necromantaeon’ is their sixth full-length album.
I’m not that much into German Death Metal but Purgatory managed to appeal to me with those nine songs of precisely executed brutality. Their music carries the explosive energy of Vader which is evident from the opening track ‘Reaping the Diseased’ to the final ‘The Collapse of Tides’. On the other hand tunes like ‘Downwards Into Unlight’ have the evil dark spirit of the early Swedish Death Metal scene.
Good words should go to the drummer Lutz – he provides tight and furious drumming with lots of double-bass and grinding swaths. Dreier’s vocals are deep and powerful and they feet perfect with the more darkened Death Metal sound of Purgatory. Strangely there aren’t any guitar leads – only in ‘Glorification of the Lightbearer’ some melodic guitar twists may be heard.
‘Necromantaeon’ is a solid Death Metal record and in case you like bands like Vader you should check it out. Purgatory are nothing new and unheard but what they do, they do it well and deserve credit for their service on the Extreme Metal front.
