Canadian symphonic blackened Death Metal legends Necronomicon, fronted by Rob ‘The Witch’ Tremblay, return with their sixth full length, ‘Unus’, the pinnacle of their thirty year career and like its five predecessors it’s a very exacting, carefully considered and superbly constructed offering, as anyone who has followed the updates and journeys of any of their previous releases will know, holding true to their well-earned reputation for quality by releasing material only when ready and satisfied with the results and it speaks volumes in the final offering as it’s a flawless work.
Jools Green
The Abyss
Regarding this release, Rob ‘The Witch’ comments: “When all is said and done, one must return to the start and begin a new life. Unus is the first major Arcana that starts a new cycle in the evolution of any living thing. Welcome to our new incarnation.”
‘Unus’ is the worthy follow-up to 2016s ‘Advent Of The Human God’, a ten track, forty minute offering of epic proportions with mastermind, vocalist, guitarist, bassist and keyboard executioner Rob joined by Divider on drums, still continuing with that Lovecraft influence and opening with massive impact with ‘From Ashes Into Flesh’, symphonic to epic proportions balanced with a crushing drive and Rob’s caustic vocal delivery.
‘Infinitum Continuum’ is a drum-rich offering with tight blackened riffs, haunting backing chorals and soaring second half lead work that causes your heart to soar while ‘Paradise Lost’ is an intense driving number with catchy repeat riff which lifts the track up in the early part, punctuated with symphonic elements.
‘The Price Of A Soul’ is an atmospheric, symphonic and predominantly instrumental short piece, at under two minutes duration, with just background chorals, which builds nicely to herald the arrival of the powerful and driving ‘Singularis Dominus’. Regarding the next track, ‘The Thousand Masks’, released as the first single and album teaser, Rob ‘The Witch’ comments:
“‘The Thousand Masks’ is different from the others not only in the tempo, speed and groove, but also it goes directly back to ‘Pharaoh Of Gods’ era and is chapter three of the actual song from 1999. It is the first song from ‘Uhus’ that was composed and one of my favourites because of its ambiance and feeling.”
“It is a fascinating track with an eastern ethnic mood to accompany the punchy riffs, blasting drums and symphonic pomp.
‘Ascending The Throne Of Baator’, a haunting and dark offering, is slower in pace than its predecessors with a mix of spoken and growled lyrics, dark haunting chorals and symphonics making it a powerfully dark and crushing offering with sinister punctuation.
With its very Lovecraft inspired title, ‘Fhtagn’, a haunting, instrumental interlude, phases into the driving ‘Cursed MMXIX’ which has an uncomplicated old school feel. Less is more here before the album closes on the rapid tempo, driving ‘Vox Draconis’, with its soaring roars, mid point lead breakout and symphonic bursts and second half atmospheric chorals; a superb end to a superb album.
‘Unus’ is out on Season Of Mist on October 18th and should be of great interest to anyone who enjoys Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh or anything with a symphonic extreme Metal edge. It’s a well varied and utterly engaging listen with every tracks a gem in its own individual right.
