Necrofier is back again.
Formed in the USA in 2018, the band released a debut EP the same year, followed three years later by an album. In 2023, Christian Larson (guitar/vocals, Night Cobra, And Darkness and Decay, ex-Venomous Maximus), Mat Aleman (bass, ex-Malignant Altar, ex-Oceans of Slumber), Dobber Beverly (drums, Oceans of Slumber, Demoniacal Genuflection, ex-Insect Warfare, ex-Malignant Altar) and Semir Özerkan (guitar, Oceans of Slumber, Æternal Requiem… ) announce the release of Burning Shadows in the Southern Night, on Season of Mist.
The Fall from Heaven, the opening track, plunges us into a half-mystical, half-worrying ambience, delicately linking aerial sounds with vocal parts from Cammie Beverly (Oceans of Slumber) before Total Southern Darkness slowly invokes the darkest sounds and visceral howls. The haunting melodic mix finally explodes with rawer Old School Black Metal roots, letting aggression bond with softer harmonics before the wild To the Wolves lets the more abrasive influences take possession of the strident sound. The atmosphere quickly becomes heavy again in the company of blast, then the band develops heady tones with Forbidden Light of the Black Moon and its hellish melodies, anchored on a driving Swedish-style rhythm, which becomes majestic with some keyboards and backing vocals. The tempo eases to let Destroying Angels take its place within the intoxicating haze, offering haunting riffs which flare up while keeping their heavy martial edge. The piercing leads seamlessly seep into the faster parts, as they do on Whispers That Burn in the Dark, with its majestic hurricane of intense sounds and strong heavy influences, in both riffs and vocals. We also find a few heady jerky passages contrasting with the more soaring melodies, before The All Seeing Shadows floods us with its heavy tones, letting the rhythmic approach carry us away in its haunting dance. Cammie Beverly also joins in with the raucous howls for a strong duet before the central acceleration, then calms the sound down again before a final explosion, followed by On Wings of Death We Burn the Sky, which once again lets the most Old School influences and dashes of Heavy Metal express themselves. The band skilfully plays between slow parts and accelerations, then Call to the Beyond lets the band develop a heady sound which effortlessly links each instrument in this warlike, melancholy lament. The dissonant final eventually fades out to give the final word to Burnt by the Sacred Flame, a long composition fairly balanced between heady melodies and a unifying aggressive rhythm, which chokes on its climax.
Necrofier‘s approach is unmistakably between its raw and melodic roots, tinged with Old School Swedish influences, making Burning Shadows in the Southern Night as rich as paced. An excellent experience.
90/100