Reviewed - 05/10/05

Harvest Ritual Vol. 1
[Coffin/Red Stream]

Back when Necrophagia reformed a few years back, I was rather disappointed in their "comeback" album "Holocausto de la Morte". It wasn't a terrible album, but it was rather noisy and a bit too unstructured for me. Phil Anselmo's guitarwork on that album ruined it for me to be fully honest with you. But when the band saw a lineup change or two things started to improve little by little. In fact, when Killjoy enlisted the help of Mirai of Sigh on keyboards and Iscariah on bass and released the "Goblins Be Thine" EP, the band took on a different and altogether better sound in my opinion. Their latest slab of horror fueled Thrash Metal entitled "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" takes the greatness of that EP and the even greater music found on their DVD "Nightmare Scenarios" and pushes it over the top to something better than they have ever done before. Yes, you heard that right... I think "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" is even better than their much acclaimed 1987 album "Seasons Of The Dead"! Don't call me ignorant or blasphemous until you hear this new album for yourself.

What makes this album such a damn good listen is the total 1980's thrash vibe it has. "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" is almost a total Thrash album in the classic sense of the term, and it's one that will be sure to make all of you older Thrash freaks bang your head as you listen recalling the days of your drunken youth. To hell with your geriatric back and neck problems! Iscariah probably had a hand in taking Immortal's sound into the Thrash realm on their later albums, so maybe he's the one responsible for this sound in Necrophagia, I don't know. Mirai's synth playing is about the only thing that takes the album away from sounding completely like a 1980's thrash album. The synth passages he comes up with on this album absolutely rule and give the album an old horror movie feeling. He's truly one of the great synth players out there. I dare you to listen to his playing on this album or the newest Hidden album and tell me otherwise. To me though, the best aspect of "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" is the guitar riffs and harmonies that both guitarists Frediablo and Fug have come up with. The totally crushing and heavy Thrash riffs these guys play would be at home on any Thrash album that came out in the mid 1980's, and the best thing of all - they are hypnotizingly catchy at all times. I cannot find a single fault within the music on this album for the life of me.

The lyrics are written and sung in English and deal with all things horror in nature. Killjoy's vocals I've tried to describe in reviews in the past and it's impossible. He just sounds... possessed. His vocals are never harmonious or easy to listen to, but they aren't meant to be either. He's all over the place - higher pitched screams and lower guttural vocals and vocal styles that sound like they are there just for ambient effects. No other vocalist out there sounds like him, it's that plain and simple. On "Return To Texas" Red Stream, Inc. CEO and four time Frasier Crane Lookalike Contest winner Patrick McCahon lends his skills to guest backup vocals.

This album also is the most refined sounding Necrophagia to date. I don't mean that it's overproduced in anyway, but everything sounds good due to a great production. The guitars aren't too trebley sounding and the keyboards and drums sound sound so natural they almost sound live.

I can't really comment on the entire packaging of the album because the promo only came with the cover art. This cover is well done though and shows a computer generated image of some female demons frolicking around an inverted and crucified Jesus Christ. Nice. I'm sure the actual C.D. has the lyrics and other artwork and all that, but like I said that wasn't included so I can't say for sure one way or the other.

This album is one you need to go out and pick up NOW! Newer fans of the band would do best to pick this up as their introduction to the Necrophagia. Older fans of the band that have tired of them really need to pick this up and see how much different they sound now compared to a few years ago. It's like a totally new band, and "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" should be enough to bring your jaded asses back to calling yourself a fan of theirs again. I see this is a "Vol. 1" album. I hope that means we'll see a follow up "Vol. 2" album before too long because this album absolutely blew me away.