Necrophagia - Harvest Ritual Volume 1 CD Review

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2005-06-23 : Hutch & Ryan : Link
So here you have it again boils & ghouls!! The infamous
metal horror creators Necrophagia Rising From The Dead Out of There Graves since 83, existing longer then death metal it self...Harvest Ritual is only the 4th proper full length release and how completely blown away and amazed I was by it ,Sadistic & BRUTAL, the first thing that immediately grabs you by the throat & never lets go are the guitar riffs.By Far one of the most dense,& crushing heavy
guitar riffs ever. However usually most guitars this heavy have a verry muddy sloppy sound,but certainly not this time with Harvest Ritual Vol 1 every last note is being heard with a crystal, sugical clarity that is both stunning & absolutley punishing!!!The lumbering mosh remind of the approach of a ravenous horde of shambling zombies,intent on slowly agonizingly,devouring you flesh. Killjoy's unearthly demonic howl rips right through your soul,leaving you a
glibbering mass of insanity,fear as well as haunted synths crying out for for doom, also even treated with special guests appearances from Joey Jordison (Slipknot) horror legend, Bill "chop top" Mosely & of corpse the Necrogoddess porn queen Jenna Jameson herself!!! All In One,Necrophagia just seems to be getting better,sicker,diversed &
diabolical,with each new record & HRV1 is yet there most
horrific,savagely,nightmarish masterpiece yet & those will fragile minds & weak hearts .....Beware!! for Necrophagia will haunt you rising from there graves to tear your souls apart!!
2005-05-20 : PM : Link
Necrophagia - Harvest Ritual Vol.1 [Coffin Records - 2005]

I’ve always been a sucker for horror influenced metal, and when it’s done well it can be great creepy fun. Necrophagia have always been about fusion of extreme metal and Horror and here they’re at the top of the game.
Their songs in the past have used samples from films, us horror fans all know and love. Also openly taken soundtrack elements and worked them into their song structures take Cannibal Holocaust (from the ep of the same name) where they recreated the main theme from said film in a extreme metal format. The film samples are only use on one track here. They’ve also made some of the most shocking music videos ever which have even left me tasting the bile.

In the past I’ve enjoyed the tracks I’d heard but for the most part they seemed rather standard death metal, peppered with other extreme influences. But when I heard track The Fog from their 2004 ep Goblins Be Thine- I was hit by it’s superb mix of 80’s synth horror soundtrack and metal. It seemed to be done in an original and different way, letting the soundtrack element co-exist with the metal, neither suffering because of the other.

Now Enter Harvest Ritual Vol.1 where almost every song is mixing the soundtrack and metal elements to great effect. Like Unearthed ,that bashes you around the head with a wonderful brutal riff then the keyboards drop in with an almost the vibe of the soundtrack from the 80’s horror film Phantasm. It’s all beautiful mixed, so the keyboards enhance and add to the atmosphere of the guitar riff and Killjoy's intestinal regurgitating vocals.

On Cadavera X it feels like you’ve been dropped into a horror film. As you wearily look around and make your way through a mist shrouded graveyard. Your feet are met by the sound of hunger groaning from beneath . A chill travels down your spine as you make out a ramshackled house. A hunched figure dragging a twitching shack towards it’s black mouth of a door.
Even the striped down metal tracks like the opener Dead Skin Slave are enjoyable, changing pace towards the end for some nice tortures grinding guitar riff. There's even some electronics used sparingly on the chanted keyboard symphony of Akumu.

Through out the tracks remain catchy, brutal and atmospheric. A difficult balancing act ,this is heightened by the production that is both gritty when it should be, but also you can hear everything with great charity. Sure some of the later riffs don’t hit home as well and remind me of other things, but for the most part. This is a gruesomely satisfying feast. That will have you come back for more. It’s not world changing, just bloody fun!

Roger Batty
2005-05-07 : The_Fury_Of_Our_Makers_Hand
I have never been disappointed with any Necrophagia release, but this one is by far their heaviest. I was very impressed with this release. I can listen to this album the whole way through without having to skip thru any of the tracks. Killjoy and Co. outdid themselves this time. Pure brutal, flesh ripping audio horror on this one!!!
This album is way heavier than anything "Anton" ever came up with when he was in the band. But don't get me wrong, "Anton" is the fuckin man.
I let my buddy who is also a big heavy metal fan and he said this album was too extreme and heavy for him....(pussy)

Rest In Pieces fellow Necrophagia Blood-Freaks