By Jonny Bakes
Six years ago, after what I can only assume was a string of bad luck, I ended up leaving Birmingham behind to start a new life in the remote Cumbrian town of Barrow in Furness. Desperate to find any sort of live music to fill the void that had been left by the Birmingham metal scene, I was surprised to find that there was an active extreme metal scene in Barrow and it was through this that I ended up at 2016’s Funeral Fest, featuring local boys Repulsive Vision.
From what I recall of that night, which to be honest isn’t a huge amount, I remember Repulsive Vision being a bit rough around the edges but showing some pretty strong potential. Going back and listening to their first album ‘Look Past the Gore and See the Art’ reaffirms my first impressions but a lot sure has happened since then. The Cumbrian old school death metallers have been going from strength to strength in their live performances of songs taking inspiration from controversial horror films. Live shows that have seen them take on festivals across Europe and even as far afield as Las Vegas, where I bet no one had any idea where Barrow is…
So, I was pretty excited to see that a new album was on the horizon so that I could find out what those years of relentless gigging has done to their sound. The result of those years of hard work is the suitably brutal titled ‘Necrovictology’ which was unleashed unto the unsuspecting public this past Friday. Fortunately, I got to get my hands on it early to see what the Repulsive Visionaries had in store.
So, first impressions? If you had told me that I’d just been given the new Carcass album to review, I would have believed you. The quality of this album is a significant step above their previous release in that it sounds like an album released by an A-list death metal band and not a raw recording from a bunch of newcomers. The style is very much the same though, it’s still that sound of thrash metal that is turned up to 11 and brutalised to the point where you get good classic death metal.
It’s fast and heavy with a seriously impressive rhythm section of Gary Young and Mark Kirby laying down a wall of noise at blistering speeds to form the backdrop of their punk-tinged brutality. Matt Davidson’s guitar riffs have managed to increase in both technicality and sheer speed to assault the senses and when paired with the guttural vocals of Dan McEwan, you’ve got yourself a very solid album.
Stand out tracks include ‘Regret’, featuring LandPhil (Municipal Waste) in a thunderously heavy number. Although this only lasts less than two minutes, it’s enough to leave you feeling a bit weak at the knees. ‘Delve The Depths’ is another stand out track that drops the tempo ever so briefly before Gary settles into some more blast beats and the usual order is resumed. A final shout out has to go to ‘Paraskevidekatriaphobia’ for song title most likely chosen to wind up the vocalist.
All in all, this is a massive throwback to old school death metal titans such as Carcass and Napalm Death, so if that’s your thing then this will absolutely float your boat. It’s an absolute step-up from their debut album (which was pretty good in itself I must add) and is staking the claim as a very worthy addition to any self-respecting extreme metal fan’s collection. All we need now is for the live music scene to open back up again so that we can see ‘Necrovictology’ hit the road!
- ‘Necrovictology’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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