Savage Necromancy - Feathers Fall to Flames

 Critter-free street food.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on April 21st 2022) 

For how much I tend to criticise war metal, there’s always something that keeps pulling me back to it. It’s like street food, but not the kind that’s perfectly fine, more so the kind that you might find bits and pieces of a dead critter in, thus ruining your meal. Gross culinary metaphors aside, it’s a very hit-or-miss genre for me, and I’ve found that it doesn’t work for me outside of a select few artists. Savage Necromancy turned out to be quite the exception though, with their debut, Feathers Fall to Flames falling firmly into the “serviceable fast food” category.
Now, as a war metal release, it ticks all the boxes, both aesthetically and musically. Black and white artwork that may or may not have been done, or influenced by Chris Moyen (on the 2022 re-release), silly stage names, and a red logo. While these things are basically a tell-tale sign of a generic album in the style, Savage Necromancy does try to slightly alter the tried-and-true formula. While the ripping tremolo riffs are present in spades, the band also throws in a couple of thrashier parts for good measure, like on “Gibbous Moon of the Horned God” and “Unholy Banner of the Black Tower”. Outside of those there’s also no shortage of brutish mid-tempo sections, such as the ones on “Storming the Gates of Heaven”, and even the occasional (well-structured might I add) lead, as seen on “Black Metal Victory!”. It meets all the stylistic criteria but does just enough to differentiate itself from the 100th Blasphemy/Revenge clone, even by a little.
As for the production, it hits that sweet spot between being rough, but not to the point of being an incoherent wall of noise. The guitars are buzzing, yet crunchy when transitioning to lower tempos, and the distorted, almost blown out, bass adds a lot of flavour and weight to the riffs. As for the drums, they’re a bit of a mixed bag for me. They’re strangely quiet, especially the kicks, which is strange when taking into consideration that the snare and cymbals sound fine for the most part. It’s an organic production that is being held back by some rather sloppy drum mixing, and while some might find it adds to the rawness of the music, it doesn’t quite cut it for me.
Another aspect in which this album falls short is that well, it’s not particularly original. One could argue that expecting originality in a microgenre that’s so single-mindedly focused on aggression and speed is silly, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the band employ the aforementioned leads and thrashier segments more often. They stand out through the more traditional elements employed here, and I would love to see them expand on them in the future. As it stands, they’re cool whenever they show up, but they don’t appear often enough to warrant me putting this release on a pedestal.
On the whole, Feathers Fall to Flames is a very solid album that safely occupies the niche it’s been born out of, with a few, but not enough, flourishes to help it stand out from other releases in the genre. Maybe we’ll see the band evolve further down this path on a future EP or full length. That being said, it’s a very promising debut, and that I can’t help but recommend to fans of the style, especially if they love their sloppy street food.
Highlights: Baptised in the Cum of the Goat, Gibbous Moon of the Horned God, Unholy Banner of the Black Tower

Rating: 73%  

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