Review by Vladimir on February 27, 2024.

"There is a dream of lechery, a dream which thou art not to seek, where the realm of god met its demise, and forever will grow our Might. Join us!" So sayeth the words which cometh from the subject of this review. The topic of this discussion will be covering the french death/black metal band Necrowretch with their fifth full-length album Swords Of Dajjal, unleashed into this world on February 2nd, 2024 via Season Of Mist. If you are not ready to face the perish of the impure being known as Dajjal, then turn back and leave, but if you are brave to see what awaits, then stay awhile and listen...

Once the album begins with the opening track 'Ksar Al-Kufar', striking hard and mercilessly with blast beats drums, furious tremolo picking guitars and harsh screaming vocals with occasional shouting, like a ravenous and wild beast with the goal to hunt, kill and devour. From here on, you will be transported into a dark and bloody world where you'll experience a very strong and turbulent curve of black and death metal filled with misanthropy, aggression and morbidity. The biggest driving factor of each song is its clever use ideas ranging from riffs to melodies to clean guitar chords and even solos, but on top of that, what amps up the overall performance of these aforementioned traits is the strong vocal performance by Vlad and the dynamic drumming of N. Destroyer that incorporates both blast beats and mid-tempo drumming, while strongly accenting the double-bass pedal work. Something that really caught my attention are elements of Persian music incorporated in the guitar melodies, clean guitar scales and tremolo picking riffs, with the best examples which showcase just that being tracks 'The Fifth Door' and 'Numidian Knowledge', both of which are definitely one of the biggest highlights of this album. Only one exception comes in the form of the instrumental seventh track 'Daeva' which serves as a strong and powerful build up to the closing track 'Total Obliteration', with a title and musical delivery that perfectly sums up this album as a whole.

The songwriting is complex and dynamic throughout the entire album, where every idea or tempo change is so perfectly balanced that makes every song stand out on its own. The stylistic consistency is a very strong factor of this album, but it's so perfectly done to the point that every song on this album is just so mind blowing that it annihilates the living hell out of everything to the point it's reduced to ash. Upon listening, I couldn't help but notice how Necrowretch has a lot of musical elements on this album that reminded me of bands such as Necrophobic, Xalpen and even Trivax, and not just in stylistic sense, but also in the way the band as a whole delivers their entire performance on this album with such intensity, extremity and artistic expression. Although there are noticable similarities with these aforementioned bands, I personally feel that Necrowretch has rightfully deserved to share a strong blood bond with these bands, especially after making this savage beast of an album. Another thing I really adored about this album is the album cover by the artist Manifest, which depicts a devilish orc-like figure with a scimitar with a split blade top, presenting the evil figure in Islamic eschatology known as Al-Masih ad-Dajjal, otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal. It's a strong and powerful visual representation of the album's overall musical output, and the particular choice of red and gold is very fitting. The album has a very superb and stellar modern production where both the instrumental performance and the vocals sound incredibly heavy yet not polished or thinned out.

I have to say, even though I came across this album by accident, it was one hell of a surprise which made me go "Holy Shit" and left me completely without a single word. Words cannot express the kind impression this album left on me, but to closely summarize this experience, I will point out that this is truly a magnificent modern day album that showcases a strong and clever example of black/death metal done right and on point. If you were lucky enough to have stumbled upon this album, then you have undoubtedly enjoyed it as much as I did, but in case you haven't heard it yet, I suggest you stop wasting your time and blast this wicked motherfucker as soon as possible.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10