Written by Kep
Necropia – Our Kingdom Befouled
> Technical deathcore
> New York, US
> Releasing May 1
> Independent/self-release
Welcome to the review, folks. Hold on one second…
“BATHE IN THE FILTH OF
DECAYING LOVED ONES”
Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Anytime Necropia’s name comes up it just bursts out of me, one of the nastiest, gnarliest lines from Desecration Complex, their 2018 banger of a debut. It’s one of several moments on that record that has stuck with me over the years and kept Desecration Complex in regular rotation. It was the first album I purchased on Bandcamp, and I’ve been preaching the Necropia gospel ever since. In fact, I picked it years back in the Noob Heavy Discord album swap, where it was received with all the debate you’d expect from cleanly-produced techcore in a group of opinionated metalheads (lowest score: 3/10, highest: 11/10, which isn’t mathematically possible but who cares, math is for chumps).
At long last Necropia is back for round two with Our Kingdom Befouled, a slicker, beefier, tricksier outing than its predecessor that delivers pretty much everything you’d expect. They still play nifty technical deathcore with clean production that on some levels hearkens back to fifteen or so years ago (think early Born of Osiris, etc., which isn’t a knock at all), though I’d argue this record leans less into deathcore tropes and the songs feel more distinguishable from one another as a result. There’s still plenty of those tasty syncopated core rhythms, and they don’t shy away from flourishing arpeggiated licks and tricky technical passages over them as they’ve always been wont to do, but in between you’ll find greater amounts of jagged techdeath riffing and thick tremoloed walls of sound. I wouldn’t call this a technical or melodic death metal record by any stretch, but lovers of those style will find more to enjoy here than previously. There are lots of futuristic, cosmic sort of vibes that hit here, too, especially in tracks like “Judgement Final”.
Our Kingdom Befouled isn’t a short listen, so make sure you’ve buckled in for a substantial ride when you press play. Opener “Disgraced Martyr” is a great mood setter with tasty minor roil in its verse riff, spiky stair-climbing tech jabs, and towering breakdowns. “Deceiver” is the first track to really play with off-kilter rhythms, a fun new twist Necropia leans into across the runtime. Lead single “Unhallowed Dominion” is still a powerhouse track, blending some TBDM vibes and killer solo of flurrying notes into the established techcore framework. The middle of the record is highlighted by the guitars in the chorus, cosmically melodic à la Rings of Saturn (complimentary!), the absolute groove bomb that is “The Serpent Idol”, and single “Ghost” and its rad stuttering main riff. In the closing stretch, the title track is a hard-charging slab of brutal riffs with a stunning solo section, and “Dusk & Decay” closes things with big rhythms and more flailing cosmic dual guitar lines.
I obviously enjoy the record quite a bit, but its length is my chief complaint, as 52 minutes is asking a lot the listener in this style of music. Big moments and unique riffs help to keep things distinct, but there is some run-together due mostly to the sheer amount of material. I also find myself wishing there was a track like Desecration Complex’s “Forsaken”, which friend of the site April Hutchins of Anna Pest described as “a techcore power ballad”, to really break up the overall mood with something unexpected.
Now, one of the few (in my opinion) legitimate knocks on Desecration Complex was its drum production, which felt sort of flat and toothless—an understandable issue when you consider budget and that the band self-produced. They’ve solved that problem this time around, handing drum recording duties over to Ray Marte of Moon Tooth, who gets good depth and power out of the kit (the part is performed by Beneath the Massacre’s Anthony Barone, who you might remember as the drummer on Shadow of Intent’s Melancholy, one of the greatest deathcore albums ever). The highly processed modern tone still won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is modern tech deathcore we’re talking about after all. The whole package is more polished than last time around and a tip of the hat goes to Jonathan Reinheimer, who handled guitar/bass recording as well as mixing on both albums—the step up in quality is noted and appreciated.
Speaking of, the guitar performances by Reinheimer, Peter LaFata, and Steve Segal (bass) are exciting and fun as hell. These are fun riffs across the board, and they find a way to mix up patterns and use cool techniques to make familiar rhythms feel fresh. Check out the rapid-fire picking in the breakdown-esque shit in the middle of “Ruins of Sanctum”—memorable little bits of a song that needs their extra punch. Meanwhile, vocalist Tameem Shaker remains a goddamn stud who can do it all, reminiscent of Luis Ferre from Phasma: false chord screams, gutturals, snarls, chesty roars, and everything in between, and they all sound awesome.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Eight years is a long time to go between your first and second LP, but Necropia make it worth the wait with an album full of technical fire and monstrous breakdowns. It’s a big listen but there’s plenty to make it worthwhile, and if techy deathcore is your scene then you’ll likely find yourself returning to this befouled kingdom many times over.
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