Fresh off a summer festival run, American death metal veterans MASSACRE, spearheaded by growl forefather Kam Lee, have announced details of their long-awaited fifth studio album, “Necrolution”, set for release on November 8 via Agonia Records. The LP’s first single, “The Colour Out Of Space”, is being premiered now in the form of a lyric video.
“Necrolution” is a retrospective, nostalgic album, that turns back time to the late ’80s and early ’90s era of death metal. Recapturing the essence and style of death metal that was the original formula. Recreating the aesthetic feeling of something from the original style and sound to represent to these modern times. It’s purposefully meant to sound dated as it represents an era of early death metal music. It purposefully does not mimic the band’s own original style but rather reflects the styles of many early era bands that influenced generations in death metal music.
Commented by Kam Lee: “With ‘Necrolution’ the idea was to evolve the band’s sound by devolving it. Unlike many bands in death metal that attempt to modernize and update their style and sound to emulate many of the modern contemporary death metal bands, we wanted to go back to the origin. The original sound and style. We wanted to make an album that sounds like it could have come out of the late ’80s. The entire concept was to create something that was a de-evolution of the death metal genre and go back to an early style reminiscent of the past. Going back 40 years into the past to immolate the style of death metal that was predominantly influenced by thrash and heavy metal bands of the era. Lyrically it’s still entrenched in the horror genre and influenced by H.P. Lovecraft stories. We even have three tracks directly dedicated and influenced by the director Stewart Gordon, the filmmaker who was directly responsible for bringing Lovecraft films to horror movies in the ’80s. The overall idea was to bring a 1980s aesthetic to the music that’s influenced by 1980s music as well as horror movie genre at the time. My hope is that fans find a unique experience when listening to ‘Necrolution’ that not only encapsulates the feeling of ’80s nostalgia but makes them appreciate the way the era influenced the death metal genre at the time.”
“Necrolution” was recorded at DOA studios, Full S Studios and Gojiden Studio in Florida (USA) and mixed and mastered by Jonny Pettersson at Studio Unbound in Sweden. The cover artwork was painted by Timbul Cahyono of Bvllmetalart. Mark Riddick (ARCH ENEMY, AUTOPSY, MORBID ANGEL) created the merchandise designs.
The recording personnel for the new album — much of whom have been with MASSACRE since the “Resurgence” era — comprises, aside from Kam Lee, original MASSACRE bassist Mike Borders, returning guitarists Rogga Johansson (PAGANIZER, RIB SPREADER, MEGASCAVANGER) and Jonny Pettersson (WOMBBATH, HEADS FOR THE DEAD) and new drummer Jon Rudin (JUST BEFORE DAWN, HEADS FOR THE DEAD, DEHUMANAUT). The band features a separate session lineup for live performances, which consists of Carlos Gonzalez (GRIM REALITY) on guitars, Elden Santos (DRUID LORD) on drums and Tim Wilson on bass.
Formed in 1984, MASSACRE started out as a heavy/power metal band, but changed its style to death metal with the joining of Allen West and Kam Lee. The latter is often credited for inventing the “death growl” — first heard on the band’s 1986 demo “Aggressive Tyrant” — and is considered an influential pioneer as far as the death metal genre is concerned. The group went through several personnel shifts and disbandments over the years — with its early lineup toggling between MASSACRE, MANTAS (early DEATH) and DEATH — to a triumphant return in 2021, with their last studio album “Resurgence”.
Track listing:
01. Fear Of The Unknown
02. Xenophobia (Prologue)
03. Ritual Of The Abyss
04. Ensnarers Within
05. Death May Die
06. Chasm (Prologue)
07. The Colour Out Of Space
08. In The Lair Of Legacy Leeches
09. The Things That Were And Shall Be Again
10. Xothic (Prologue)
11. Dead-Life: ReAnimator
12. Shriek Of The Castle Freak
13. Curse Of The Resonator
14. Horrors Of Hidden Truth
15. Shroud Of Shadows
16. Ad Infinitum: The Final Hour
Recording lineup:
Kam Lee – vocals
Mike Borders – bass
Jonny Pettersson – guitars
Rogga Johansson – guitars
Jon Rudin – drums
Photo credit: Alayna B. Lee