A pleasant surprise woke me from a restless slumber with the buzzing of my phone. An email from one NECRONOMIDOL with a press release for the upcoming release of the album vämjelseriter, which is Swedish for “rites of detestation” by the way. It contains many well known and well loved songs along with a few new songs.

Here is a quick snapshot of the release details.

NECRONOMIDOL – vämjelseriter

Release date: February 24th 2021

Label: IMPERIET IV
Product Code: IMIV-003
Price: 2500 JPY (not including tax)

Track Listing:

1  TUPILAQ
2  LAMENT CONFIGURATION
3  NYX
4  cassilda
5  R’LYEH
6  celephaïs
7  phantasmagoria cosmos
8  santa sangre
9  NECROPOLIS
10  ABHOTH
11  ex oblivione
12  SALEM
13  SARNATH
14  童歌 (warabeuta)
15  RITUAL  

On to my thoughts on the release. These are, of course, just my opinions and should be taken as such.

As a whole the mixing seems a tad bass heavy, although at times the highs really ring out especially on a couple songs which are not quite as frantic musically. The members harmonize wonderfully and everyone seems to be given their own time to shine during the hour plus run time.

Now, I am sure we are all familiar with at least 12 of these tracks, at least in musical and lyrical form. As for the vocals, they are very well recorded on the tracks that have been redone. Everything is crisp and you can hear every detail, unlike a few of the earlier recordings on the older releases, which are a bit muddy at times. I will have to say I was not pleased with the mixing on the in my mind, classic track, 童歌. The synths were to forward for my tastes, take that as you will. It is still a great track.

On to the new tracks. As I am sure some have noticed there is a divide in the community over the track RITUAL. Some think it is plodding and never really goes anywhere while others love it. I was in the former camp but after listening to it, I have to admit the song is growing on me, especially since it isn’t a YouTube track and I have the actual album track to listen to.

The first actual new track I came across was cassilda. It feels very much like a throwback to the 1980s with its synths and Steve Stevens like guitar playing over what is a pretty basic 4/4 dance beat. It would probably rank it in the top 75% of the groups catalog.

The second absolutely new song is NECROPOLIS. It builds and builds for about a minute then hits high gear. I must confess it had me moving a bit during the chorus. I swear somebody stole John Christ’s guitar tone from the first Danzig album for this one. It is a catchy tune for sure.

As a complete package I would say this is a very good offering from the group. In all seriousness I enjoyed it much more than scions of the blasted heath. Only a few minor missteps on this release from what I can hear. I am sure it will be popular with any fan of NECRONOMIDOL. It will be in my rotation for a while to come, although I might skip 童歌 from time to time.

The album will be released on February 24 both in CD as well as online via all major streaming services as well as Bandcamp.

Pick it up now as a preorder on the group’s Bandcamp page: https://necronomidol.bandcamp.com/merch

Or if you are inclined, at all your favorite Japanese music outlets.