NECROSANCT - Desolate CD

Re-release of the great third album (1993) of this extreme Death Metal band from the UK!

"Desolate" is a typical third album, with the band experimenting somewhat with their formula. The members incorporated some more diverse influences than the usual death metal and grindcore sounds from before and it makes for a more diverse listening experience. I can imagine, it also marks the point where the band's members' musical tastes maybe started to drift away from each other, perhaps the reason why this is their final effort.

The bulk of the songs on "Desolate" follow the same path as on "Incarnate", grinding death metal with some needed variation in between. It made me think of "In Battle There Is No Law" era Bolt Thrower but at much higher velocity, with the fastest parts on the album also reminding me of Blasphemy quite a lot, while the guitar leads bring to mind good ole Morbid Angel as well as Massacre's "From Beyond". The vocals are mostly in the vein of former Pestilence/Asphyx throat shredder Martin Van Drunen but early Morbid Angel are yet again a point of reference. To this mix you can also add touches of early Napalm Death and other Earache bands of days passed and all of this together makes for quite the explosive cocktail of what was on offer in extreme metal around the end of the 80's and the beginning of the 90's.