REVIEW: Necrom -- The Light Has Never Been Here (2019, independent)

I usually don't review singles and EPs because limited material
does not provide sufficient insight into composition dynamics
that can be derived from full length work, and on many occasions
such releases are offhand statements that don't necessarily represent
the band's vision.

This is a rare exception, because, as it turned out, that's what
I was waiting for for a fucking decade and a half.

Necrom is the latest project of Roman Saenko of Hate Forest, Drudkh
(and countless other projects) fame, Varggoth of Nokturnal Mortum,
Khaoth from Khors and a couple of young bloods . This year has
already seen the release of The Onlooker which nodded to the old
glory days of our beloved Hate Forest. While I liked the evolution
of the band's sound, few things were still missing.

Well, this release finally dots all the i's and crosses the tees.
This 3 song plus intro EP is by no means a next iteration of Drudkh
sound towards the vacant throne of Hate Forest; neither it is, as
the lineup might suggest, anything prog/folk/epic. This is straight-ahead
old school death metal in pre-melodic tradition, with Saenko's roar
finally back as a last piece of the puzzle that made HF so great.
Neither it is an attempt to recreate HF or pick up where the latter left
off; with so much time passed and so many things changed I don't
think it's possible, rather the band shoots to the deeper roots,
to the epoch before modern influences started piling up waves of
commercialized extreme music. This sounds as if HF were formed a
decade before they actually did. There is some Purity-style
kinetics that sets the material apart from the likes of early Dismember,
and adds atmosphere typically found in black metal albums, but
that's about it. There is a lot in the way of nuances here, but
I will hold my breath for now; as far as 3-track EP goes this
is perfect and I don't know how to deal with perfect.

I am waiting for the full-length and biting my fingers.
It is about fucking time.

You can form an independent opinion here.