Nekrokraft – Witches Funeral
Release Date: 19th January 2018
Label: The Sign Records
Hailing from Sweden, Nekrokraft perfectly embody the land of cold, darkness and music that will rip your ears to shreds. Their latest release is a compilation of their early demo album, initially released in 2012, and also select singles that have been released over their seven years as a band. Despite the bands young years, they are carrying the baton for TRVE KVLT black metal, channelling early Dark Funeral and Deathcrush era Mayhem with their perfect blend of Death Metal, Rock n Roll swagger and Scandinavian grit.
With the fact that this record is a compilation album the record doesn’t have an overarching atmosphere that a lot of Black Metal albums have that I enjoy, but luckily the songs certainly stand up for themselves. With half the songs sounding like they were recorded in a cupboard and the other not faring much better half-production wise, for the casual listener it may be a struggle, however as far as adherence to the style and genre Nekrokraft have found the perfect balance of gritty atmosphere and intricate instrumentals to deliver a modern take on the classic formula. In the words of Nekrokraft themselves the band, “is all about witches brew, the fucking woods and thrashing through the boundaries of hell”. And listening to Witches Funeral you can certainly understand how that sentiment applies to their songs. Feral vocals roar over hammering guitars and crashing drums for the most part. However a wall of noise this is not; the vocals are surprisingly versatile with vocalist ‘Angst’ contorting his voice into a diverse mix of evil sounds, whilst the intricacies of the guitars are often allowed to flourish even featuring select guitar solos such as on ‘Satan My Master’, and finally the pounding drums which whilst for the most part follows the classic Black Metal line of blastbeat after blastbeat are not overpowering, used in perfect conjunction with the other members. Nekrokraft even tackle Slayers Thrash classic ‘Angel of Death’ and absolutely smash it in the best possible way, introducing an urgency and aggressiveness that even I didn’t think was possible.
Whilst for any Nekrokraft fan this release may not be anything new, for most this is an excellent chance to get to hear one of Swedens best new Black Metal bands at their best.
Favourite Tracks: Reborn in Fire (Witches Funeral), The Void, They Swim, They Must Hang
Score: 8/10
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