Necro Deathmort

The Capsule

BY Peter EllmanPublished Sep 7, 2016

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Loosely described, Necro Deathmort are two UK doom metalheads with synthesizers. Their past material has ranged from doom and sludge metal to industrial techno, and while The Capsule is indeed another change for the band, it's not quite new musical territory.
 
Necro Deathmort brand themselves with a doom metal aesthetic, but texturally, The Capsule is much closer to the horror scores (and "Lost Themes" albums) of John Carpenter and other modern examples influenced thereby. Disasterpeace's excellent score for It Follows comes to mind, as does Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein's score for Stranger Things.
 
The Capsule has almost no drum sounds, except for a minute or two in "The Crux" and the punishing post-punk rhythms of the standout opening track "In Waves." On the one hand it is impressive what this duo can do with only synth textures ("Mono/Serum" is the creepiest), but on the other hand the second half of the album drags a bit more, dwelling a bit too much on atmosphere and losing the energy of the first half.
 
The duo also have a hard time matching the maturity and craftsmanship of their forebears, but that's to be expected — Carpenter and his ilk are tough comparisons to match. Furthermore, The Capsule was not created with any particular cinematic application in mind. Part of the reason It Follows, Stranger Things and most of Carpenter's work stand out is how perfectly the audio suits the visual. Working with film can focus a musician; without it, NDM seem to wander.
 
Yet this is a strong release from talented and creative minds. Even without a particular film to reference, these soundscapes will give you the creeps.
(Rocket Recordings)

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