Genre: Death metal
Origin: France
Released: 2009
Website: Necros, Abnorm
Label: Nihilistic Holocaust
Uploaded: 19.10.09

I love old school death metal when done well. But some people seem to praise everything just for the fact that it’s old school. I’m much more restrictive; it still has to be something special about it, just as it would with any other style or genre. And honestly a lot of the time when I check out a band that everyone’s raving about I don’t get it. Sure, it’s old school, but so what… Here we have a split with two young French acts that both unfortunately wind up in my ‘so what’ pile.
First out is Necros with their To an endless chaos… demo from earlier this year. That particular crushing old school feel immediately settles in as soon as the riffing commence. But the opening track (which is also the title track) doesn’t really do anything for me; I’ve heard it all before. Bloody throne on the other hand is a much more interesting song, as they flirt a bit with doom as well. The deep, grunting voice fits perfectly with the slower sections, where vivid Winter flashbacks haunts my mind. There are a few lethal riffs, the blasting is not over-the-top and the production feels real and not overly clean and digital. I guess that sums up my impression of Necros; it feels real and true, but it still doesn’t get my adrenaline rushing like crazy. Sure, it’s fairly powerful, but not to the point where I get overwhelmed by it.
An intro later and we have the Occularis infernum track by Abnorm, taken from their Schemes of hate and denial demo. This has some more hints towards black metal, and it's also slightly rougher, much due to the crude recording. The semi-melodic guitar lines are fairly dominant in their sound, and some are pretty cool. But I think its power gets lost in the burly sound, and with the fast drumming and growling vocals it’s a bit too dodgy, production-wise. Unfortunately I just can’t get into it, and I’m convinced it’s due to the sound. It’s a good display of bulldozer death metal with its slower mangle, but I just can’t take it in.
An old school fanatic will probably go apeshit over this, but for someone like me (who requires just a little more flare) it’s a bit too sketchy. It’s cool that Gab still release tapes, there’s no doubt about his devotion to the underground and he always promotes and distributes his stuff well. So hopefully this split will find its way to the more devoted listeners, ‘cause it definitely deserves attention.

Tracklist:
Necros:
01. To an endless chaos…
02. Bloody throne
03. Gehennah
04. Anoint the chosen
Abnorm:
01. Intro
02. Occularis infernum (the devilish contemplations)
03. Schemes of hate and denial
04. The dead end path passenger