Necro Deathmort — The Capsule

British two-piece, Necro Deathmort, is back with its newest release, and first on Rocket Recordings, The Capsule. Taking each new release as its own, and doing whatever they feel may alienate some fans, but it helps Necro Deathmort stay true to themselves. This allows the band to craft engaging electronic pieces that can traverse many styles.

Propulsive and fun, The Capsule opens with "In Waves." Reminiscent of Trans Am, crispy synths play along with a fast, active beat and robotic vocals, bringing the listener into a foreign, almost computer world. Arpeggiating forward (is that a word? Too late!), "First Rays" feels like an accurate soundtrack to the sun coming up on a distant horizon on an alien world. What starts off bright and promising becomes bleak and machine-like. Undulating and fairly hypnotic, "Rays" moves along at a completely different pace and drastically different manner than "Waves." The Capsule takes on another form entirely in the spread out, grim "Moonstar." While active synthesizers hint at a beat, the lack of percussive synths let this one float along and tease the listener about the grounded security he/she once had. Long arpeggios give "Capsule Sickness" a classic, 70's space synth vibe. Slow and sparse, "Capsule" isn't too far removed from the likes of Software and other types of kosmische musik. "Crux" takes this brighter sound and opens it up a bit further. Spacey and contemplative, the highs play along with the percussive hits and add a great depth. Screeching and brooding, "Mono/Serum" obliterates the levity of "Crux" with its drawn out, low, creeping layers. Continuing with the near free-form action, "Pecklyn" slowly floats its way around, meandering between notes and tempos. Compared to the rest of The Capsule, it feels like an afterthought, but I'm sure there's just something I'm missing. "Screens" closes the album out on a foggy, fairly wistful note. Thoughtful notes punctuate the mist and move the album to a nice, unexpected finish.

What one would assume is a death metal band, Necro Deathmort use their own brand of electronic synthesis to put forth their somewhat bleak message. Although my first encounter with the band came late, The Capsule is an entertaining journey and one that will most likely get me searching Necro Deathmort's back catalog.