Necro Deathmort are a London duo comprised of Matthew Rozeik and AJ Cookson, and this debut album release on Distraction ‘This Beat Is Necrotronic’ (apparently their first ‘proper’ record) easily represents one of the most intriguing and unexpected genre collisions I’ve encountered over the past year. While the exquisitely detailed sleeve illustrations at first hint at classic black metal origins (check out the Inquisition-style enforcer on the inside), Necro Deathmort’s aesthetic sees them combining elements of doom and drone metal with post-rock and illbient hiphop influences, with spectacularly successful results. Indeed, previous comments made by other writers likening this to being “doom metal’s version of ‘Endtroducing’†certainly aren’t too far off the mark. It’s also an album characterised by rapid, almost ADD-esque stylistics shifts. If opening track ‘Woburn Place Corner’ at first calls to mind the more aggressive end of AFX’s oeuvre with its sharp burst of digital timestretching effects and detuned radio squeals, ‘Spilth’ sees crunching, distorted analogue bass synths locking into step with juddering MPC-punched beats, shortly before things descending into metal flame-out amidst chugging power chords and fierce noise bursts.
Elsewhere, ‘Hurt Me I’m Bored’ sees live drums and bendy analogue synths tracing a cinematic path against sudden guitar powerchords as the entire track relentlessly builds into a crunching, inexorably effortless doom metal crescendo that calls to mind Sunn, while the eight minute long ‘Return To Planet Atlas’ sees things veering closer to Ninja Tunes’ leftfield beats territory as vast washes of droning noise slide beneath a twinkling, widescreen backing of ambient textures and massive, crunching DJ Shadow-esque hiphop breaks. While the above might sound like a unwieldy combination of styles on paper, in practice the collision works spectacularly, making ‘This Beat Is Necrotronic’ easily one of the most fresh takes on the leftfield hiphop and metal genres I’ve heard in a long time. Special mention must also go to the exquisite gatefold sleeve art by Dominic Hailstone (also responsible for ‘Come To Daddy’s creature effects), but with only 500 copies of the physical CD release available, you’ll want to move quickly.
Chris Downton
