OBLITERATION

What we have here is one of the better AUTOPSY worshippers you'll hear, a sentiment that should be read in complimentary terms. Throw in a little early INCANTATION doom/death and a fresh sense of identity, and you've got yourself and old school death metal rager. Influenced playing alone would mean nothing without sharp songwriting. Check! On "Nekropsalms", OBLITERATION offers nine tracks of death sharpened to a fine point and arranged with concern for staving off listener boredom.

Originally released by Norway's Fysisk Format in 2009, the Norwegian quartet's sophomore album now gets the vinyl release treatment from Forcefield Records. Given the winds of ancient sootiness blowing through the grooves and the highly sought Fenriz (DARKTHRONE) seal of grim approval, the format fits. While one does indeed hear the mud 'n guts of AUTOPSY all along the way, as exemplified by the excellent combo of up-tempo bludgeon and doom-crawl sickness on "Nekropsalms Evoke the Frozen Age", the band never sounds like it is just recycling tired riffs or going through the motions. Rather, the playing is spirited and the arranging is skilled, not to mention downright hellish. The impacting guitar solos are also worthy of note.

Whether it the cleverly cool contrast of bass lines and guitar on "Catacombs of Horror", the deadly serious doom-n-death of "The Spawning of a Dying Kind", or nine-minute monument of dread "The Worn that Gnaws in the Night" (the chanting toward the end is chilling),"Nekropsalms" is a cut above meat and potatoes death, even though it is no game changer. A production that is suitably organic, yet professionally delivered, helps a great deal as well.

Take your pick of vinyl selections in black, yellow, or yellow-with-black-haze and present it to your DM-hating wife, girlfriend, husband, or boyfriend on his/her birthday with a declaration of "I got it for both us!" The touching gesture will lead to a lifetime of mutual respect and undying trust in the relationship. A gift of all three vinyl versions may even get you out of doing your own laundry.