Review by Felix on May 18, 2019.

Music fulfils its purpose whenever it evokes strong emotions. Some fine songs are simply good and that's it, but only a few bands have the skills to add an extra dimension to their compositions. Fortunately, the veterans of Necrodeath know their trade. Many of their albums have combined style and violence, sharpness and melody - and many songs of Italy's finest export in terms of steel have entered my metallic hall of fame, because they exactly possess this specific feature, a sort of emotional intelligence. The Age of Dead Christ reveals this characteristic as well. Maybe I am a just an uncritical fanboy, but Necrodeath get the hang of it. Already the stylish artwork and the revitalized old band logo awaken my curiosity and its sinister, religious yet lethal aura reflects some of the interesting lyrics. "The Order of Baphomet", for example, picks up the (anti-) religious idea and summons the listener to think freely without dogmatic restrictions. Peso and Flegias have written intelligent lines that refer to historical situations like a witch trial and allegoric elements enrich the lyrical side of the album as well.

But it gets even better. In terms of musical vehemence, Necrodeath do not slacken the reins. Some aggressive, sharp and fast eruptions have found their place on the eleventh full-length. By contrast, "The Triumph of Pain" stands in the tradition of their less angry, rather atmospheric pieces (remember, for instance, the excellent "Master of Morphine"). I admit that they have already penned better mid-paced tunes, nevertheless, The Age of Dead Christ does not fall short of expectations. Therefore, I regret that its playtime does not exceed the mark of 33 minutes, but I also know that a compact output is better than a 60 minutes work which gets boring at the end. Nonetheless, it is a pity that "Headhunting", their great single track from 2015, is missing. Instead, they have rerecorded another classic from their first albums. "Return of the Undead" takes us back to the provocative and evil first steps of the band. I can promise that it has lost nothing of its vileness and brutality during the last three decades.

As already mentioned, the Italians still focus on fury, but their well-known morbid elements are integrated as well and the same applies for some weird, sometimes psychedelic guitar lines. Especially the highlights, for example "The Crypt of Nyarlathotep", leave no doubt that the band knows how to connect outbursts of anger and melodic sections. This results in a coherent number with great tempo changes and a very dynamic overall impression. The trademarks of the dudes - the charismatic screaming of Flegias, the sometimes-oppressive harmonies, the thrashing rage and the percussion gimmicks of Peso - still shape their art and lend them a great degree of individuality. Speaking of "Thrashing Rage", you know that this is song title of Voivod and Necrodeath call these legendary Canadians one of their biggest influences, but fortunately they are less eccentric and innovative than the dudes from Quebec.

As always since the comeback, the production shines with clarity and power. These guys are no amateurs. Even the most intensive parts of shocking outbursts like "The Master of Mayhem" do not reveal any sound problems in terms of transparency. However, this is not a sterile record. Already the raw and passionate voice of Flegias ensures that the compositions cannot be described as soulless or polished. The Italians still convey the feeling of thrash metal in a very authentic manner and this is no matter of course after all these years. But Peso and his comrades do not show any signs of fatigue. They stand up against the young challengers in their homeland like the phenomenal Surge Assault - and they still present music which evokes strong emotions.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Alex on February 13, 2021.

When did I first catch-ear of the name Deiquisitior?, 2014?, 2016?, can't pin-point a specific date or accurately recall a year, but I do recall the buzz around Downfall of the Apostles. However, even at that time, lending an ear to the noise coming from the Danish death metal trio was somewhat of a struggle due to being saturated in so many other great releases both prior to the release of Downfall... and records released at the same time. However, I knew the name would arise again and under more ideal circumstances.

2019 birthed Towards Our Impending Doom and once again the timing was really wrong at least to facilitate my interest in the record, but from what I was able to hear scantily of, that record is an unearthly uproar of death metal, Danish Style. Then skip to now and look at what showed up in the promo box, the band's newest act of tumult, Humanoid. A 25 minute EP that sounds like vocals, drums and guitars have been weaponized. Pummeling from beginning to end, Humanoid is mayhemic, warlike, yet a very tactile inoculation into death metal itself.

Play this one loud, 'World in Flames' is hazardous and heinous, the drums and the punchy production conspire to paint an atmosphere that is a total mess, much like the current state of things these days, any minute we could be 2 minutes to midnight or perhaps we already are. We just haven't noticed it. Deiquisitor manipulates the instrumentation to mimimic that of a chaos drenched species; the vocals here are just vile and pulsing with a totalitarian punctuation that demands undivided attention. The drumming is thunderous, hostile and technical while the riffing here makes warlock-like additions to the unyielding ruckus.

The sonic turmoil is just taken to the next level from there-on, with tracks like 'Autonomous Warfare' and 'Empyrean Lifeform' mustering vicious instrumentation in support of the concept tackled by Deiquisitor on Humanoid. A rupturing array of blast beats and bulldozing bass-lines augment the riffing recklessness all the way through the final track 'Blinded by Wisdom'. Like military machinery going absolutely haywire, Humanoid reminds listeners of the all too futile and vulnerable plantation they exist on called Earth.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10