Rating: 8.2

Country: Italy

Release Date: 2007

Record Label: Blasphemous Underground

Track list:
1. Intro (Vatican Burning)
2. Atomic Bloodshed
3. Marching For Hell
4. Christ-Crushing Black Metal
5. Terror Squad
6. 666 Necroalkolterrorist
7. In The Name of God Let The Churches Burn
8. Fukking Bastard God
9. Evil Prophets
10. Total Blasphemy

Total playing time 28:30

Band Website: Necromessiah

Necromessiah - Antiklerical Terroristik Death Squad

Necromaniac - vocals/guitar
Sgt. Baal - bass
Darken - drums

At the very least real good thrash should incite in its listeners the same sort of adrenaline rush one would experience from sniffing grade A cocaine off of strippers' asses. It should perhaps be the very catalyst that motivates a Sunday driver to suddenly crash through the highway toll booth barrier, nearly mowing down the traffic officer in the process and flip the authorities the finger as they tail him or her in a nearly endless high speed pursuit. Indeed those of you that know what I'm talking about will certainly remember the glory days of Demolition Hammer, Master, Sodom, Exhorder anyone? Basically all pure examples of bands that personified "danger" from the moment you pressed the play button on your tape deck. In fact, when I was just a teenager many, many years ago I remember having implemented my very own rating system to test just how good a thrash band truly was. If I couldn't get through the whole "a" side of a cassette before my Mom or Dad came barging in my bedroom to demand that I shut it off then chances are I knew I possessed something very special. If I couldn't get through an entire song, hell it was even better! Ahh, that's nostalgia for ya. Well, with that in mind, I say, "fuck you Municipal Waste!" and while I'm still feeling quite cantankerous from the oppressive humidity currently stifling my senses, let me declare that Warbringer and all the rest of these retro related bandwagoneers can eat the corn right out of my shit, every kernel! Thrash was NOT meant to sound like a trendy, hip jingle for the latest Mountain Dew or Red Bull commercial nor was it meant to sound like something you'd hear blaring from the speakers of the latest ESPN sports store while the wide eyed and blond haired yuppie clerk does his best motivational public relations speaker bit to sell you a $200.00 jersey that probably cost only $10.00 to make in some Malaysian sweatshop which some 12 year old kid only got paid 12 cents an hour to slave over. No.. thrash wasn't meant to be "safe."

Enter Italy's own Necromessiah, a band that not only reaffirms this scribe's faith in the long defunct genre but proudly wears its influences of its sleeves the way hockey players adorn cuts and bruises. "What do they sound like?" you ask? Well, picture various members of such cultworthy acts like Venom, Sodom, Master, Impiety, and Impaled Nazarene if they were released from prison only to form a rowdy biker gang and end up in a drunken bar room brawl with rival gangbangers, the Hells Angels while the house band continued to play on, dodging stools, bottles, bullets, and other projectiles in the process. Sure, you've heard it all before a thousand times over; the blazing guitar solos, the steady and harsh rat-a-tat pounding snare beats, and gravelly vocals but goddamn if this isn't some of the catchiest shit you haven't heard in quite some time! Perhaps it has to do with the undercurrent of anthemic Brit punk (think Discharge, Exploited, etc.) that propels a brunt of the songs in a rocking sort of fashion. In fact, listening to cuts such as, "In the Name of God Let the Churches Burn," "Christ-Crushing Black Metal," and "666 Nekroalkolterrorist" I'm suddenly reminded of what Sodom's pinnacle achievement, Persecution Mania would have perhaps sounded like if Tom Angelripper and co. had adorned mohawks, recorded the entire album in a drunken stupor while reducing the whole studio to a pile of rubble while listening to old Discharge and Motorhead records. Overall you can sense that alcohol consumption definitely played a big role or shall we say influence on Necromessiah's part, in fact so much so that I won't be surprised if these dudes earn an a lifetime endorsement from Budweiser very soon. Then there are the straightforwardly stomping numbers like opener, "Atomic Bloodshed," "Marching For Hell," and "Fukking Bastard God" with their heavy reliance of frenetic speed picking, temper tantrum drum beats, and acidic vocal delivery has me conjuring up images of Impaled Nazarene if they were all cast as the rowdy droogies from Kubrick's, Clockwork Orange. Overall, the performance and delivery throughout this opus is irreverantly filthy and as loose as a porn star's slit but deeply inspired which I find very admirable to say the least. Although the production values are indeed clean as a whistle surprisingly not an ounce of harsh abrasiveness is compromised but rather lend a nice crunchy layering to Necromaniac's riffs and piercing wail to his chaotic solos which at times brings to mind the work of Frank Blackfire when he was a member of both Sodom and Kreator during the mid to late 80's. Even the vocal delivery is highly reminiscent of Tom Angelripper (Sodom) but hey, I'm not about to fault them for that.

The next time you're about to have yourself an open keg and gasoline bonfire party, do yourself a big favor and make sure you have this sucker playing in the backround. If this one doesn't inspire your buds to drink themselves into a coma or enough to where you have enough evidence on camera the next morning to humiliate them in front of their employers, kids, and grandparents then consider them braindead.

June 13th, 2008