NECROCENE - Scumocracy

Oh my God! Florida death metal? Well, brother, let it be filthy! Apo’s vocals genuinely brought my energy back. His tone sounds like a mix of Chuck Schuldiner and John Tardy. The whole album screams “FLORIDA!” The songs where the Obituary influence is particularly dominant could well be among the finest death metal offerings of the year.

Yes, the song formulas are simple. Yes, the music doesn’t offer anything new. But brother, sometimes you’re not looking for anything new. You just want some good old death metal. That’s exactly what NECROCENE delivers. And not through some sterile, modern, overly polished approach either; it carries the smell of mud, sweat, and the old Morrisound days. These guys have made an album made for drinking beer to.

NECROCENE has delivered an album that manages to stay firmly rooted in its origins while meticulously working the genre’s veins.

The swamp starts bubbling with Threshold. The album’s atmosphere makes itself known from the very first minute. Then, with Ordinary Enemy, Alex and Joy show that they are ready to launch an unrelenting assault. The riffs attack head-on; there’s no unnecessary showmanship. That’s one of my favorite things about old-school death metal anyway: let the riff come at you and smash you in the head...

On Tempestari, Apo is ready to unleash a death metal reeking of decay, straight out of Florida’s sulfurous swamps. It’s easy enough to hear traces of Obituary, Death, and Cancer in the song. But these references never overshadow the music; NECROCENE melts them down into its own dark, filthy mass.

On Scale of Grey, Ste is ready to unleash all his skills behind the kit in a crushing attack. It’s a crazy death metal track. Apo roars, Ste fires up the blast beats, and Alex and Joy come crashing down on you with their riffs. One of those tracks that makes you experience the reality of death firsthand.

Then comes Scumocracy, the album’s title track. A thoroughly diabolical piece. As the riffs catch fire and the blast beats run wild, I particularly recommend paying attention to the vocals. Chuck and Tardy sound as if they just dropped by the studio and gave Apo a few vocal lessons. That dirty, raspy yet aggressive quality in his tone takes the track several steps higher.

We take a short breather with (Stillpoint). We retreat into that silence just before the decay takes control again. But we all know it won’t last long.

Let me tell you, Human Lithification is going to cause some serious trouble in a live setting. Alex and Roy have found a great melody and then managed to shake you to your core by combining it with solid riffs. Here, I think NECROCENE shows that it isn’t simply repeating old death metal formulas, but also demonstrates how effective compositions can be built within those formulas.

The tempo gradually picks up with Concrete Petrichor. Ste’s relentless drumming accompanies Apo’s merciless vocals. As the song progresses, the pressure on you keeps building. The Florida influence that runs throughout the album is once again felt here in full force.

Weapons of the Damned is a particularly fine example of OSDM. The Cancer reference is especially strong on this track. They’ve blended the death metal character that has become the band’s trademark with its doom-laden opening remarkably well. The structure starts heavy, then brings together the bleak atmosphere of classic British death metal and Florida aggression in the later sections.

And the closer: The Lust of Us. With riffs that have now become Alex and Roy’s signature, you can absolutely wreck your neck while headbanging. If you still have any energy left by the end of the album, you’re doing something wrong somewhere.

It’s also nice to see something like this coming out of Italy. NECROCENE isn’t trying to reinvent death metal with Scumocracy. Nor does it need to. These guys looked back at the genre’s history, picked out the veins they love most, and made that blood flow again with their own hands.

Obituary’s aggression, Chuck’s vocal legacy, Cancer’s dark approach to riffing, and the muddy atmosphere of early Florida death metal have seeped into every corner of the album.

At a time when death metal is constantly being pushed toward something more technical, faster, and more complex, NECROCENE keeps it pretty simple: they crank up the guitars, push the amps to the limit, and remind us why we love this music in the first place.

It’s not new. It’s not modern. It’s not chasing technical showmanship in the slightest. But it’s damn solid death metal.

And that is exactly what I need.

Florida death metal? Well, brother, let it be filthy.

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