Welcome to Rock Music Critic! Check out reviews in the Flash menu above or the static links below. This latest version of the site now includes reviews with an embedded music player so you can listen to whole albums once for free courtesy of Lala.com. Lala doesn't always have an album, but when they do I will include the player. What's easier than listening to an album to decide whether you like it? Feel free to ignore my petty ramblings and just listen to the tunes. That's really the whole point anyway. Up the Irons!! ~ George
Necrophagia
The Divine Art of Torture
Necrophagia's claim to fame was the fact that for a time it boasted having Phil Anselmo, the prolific singer of Pantera, as a member. Phil is no longer in the band, and they will have to stand on their own based on the merits of their music. Will they stand, or will they fall by the wayside? Let's listen and find out.
Well, my first impression is either my headphones are shot or the production sucks. So far this first song is really pretty bad. It seems unorganized and chaotic. Ironic that I would consider that a bad thing for a metal song isn't it?
Track 2, production still sucks, but they have at least found a workable groove. Well that didn't last. Gee, can't imagine why Phil would leave THIS wonderful band. Singer and founder Killjoy has been going at it since the early 80's, so I have a hard time understanding why this album sounds so inexperienced. Maybe my headphones really are busted.
Hello, and welcome to track 3. For your listening displeasure the music has been cranked up a notch in the speed department. It is becoming increasingly difficult to take this band seriously. The honeymoon is finally over, my streak of good reviews is coming to an end. This is what happens when you DON'T preview music online and buy something on name recognition alone. The best part of this song is the creepy horror movie synth line playing in the background. And of course that the song does end eventually.
Remember when the black metal scene was alive and cool? How those old Mayhem demo's sounded like crap but they were cool as hell anyway? Yeah, well, those days are over; good production is becoming mandatory these days. Digital technology being what it is, it's almost a crime to have a recording this bad.
Hope springs eternal, and I keep listening for something that might redeem this pile of crap. Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen. I am likely wasting my time (and money!) in an attempt to make sure that YOU should not waste your time and money on this abomination of metal. I didn't realize just how true the title of this disc was until now. Except you can drop the "divine" part, it's just plain old torture.
My advice to Necrophagia? Leave the horror movie shtick to Rob Zombie, he does it much better, if perhaps a bit more commercially.
While this is technically good for annoying neighbors (2 of 5), I really, really hate this disc. I would feel remiss in my duty as a reviewer to give this dung pile anything more than a 1(of 5). I will sleep better tonight knowing that I will probably never listen to this CD again. Please, for your own good, stay away from this CD. Friends don't let friends buy Necrophagia. If you have money to throw away, send it to me instead, I could use it.
