The Dark Cookie checks out this one man death/thrash project, here’s what he thinks…
NECROKINESIS (pronounced Neck-ro-Kinesis as John himself teaches us from the book of face) is a one-man Deathly-Thrashing machine called Adrian Foley from Carlow Ireland who has been doing his thang since 2020. “A Force Made Flesh” is his 2nd album after the self-titled affair released in 2020.
I have been in the past been turned off these one-man projects, as far too often without any other creative or editorial input they can become out of control exercises in an ego-wank, ending up with everything being thrown at the wall to see what sticks, so much so you loose sight of the wall. Well, here I am please to say this is not the case. I can confirm this is an ego-wank free zone, and you can see it benefits from a producer/engineer Michael Richards’ involvement, however light that touch was.
You know me by now. A quick word on the cover. Again, another gem! A humanoid kneeling in what could be a cell (or a workspace?) connected to a multitude of wires and cables (or possibly pipes), becoming one with the web of wires. All rendered in blues/greys. Although I have no insight to this, I would say this image relates to the track “The God You Kneel To” and is a metaphor for how our lives are governed by our need to be interconnected to this network or that social media feed etc. Or it might just be a cool image of an alien. Whatever it is cool.
Right, we are here for the music not my ramblings. “A Poisoned Mind” gets us off to a great start. The vocals are gruff but clear and clean, just how I like them. The guitar is the star for sure and the drumming sounds like a human properly thrashing away. We are straight away in 5th gear. “The God You Kneel To” keeps things going moshingly. Vocals a bit more deathy here, but the pace and quality just keep going. “Atonement” is a groove monster! A tad slower, but heavier for it with a heck of a riff.
“Skin Them Alive”, come on with a title like that it has to be a face-melter or would have failed. And it doesn’t disappoint with a drum sound that will flail skin from a willing supplicant. “Mental Suicide” is a grower. Again, the whole sound is excellent. The guitar tone, the vocals and pounding drums, a Favorite of mine for sure, perhaps because it is, to me an old-school tune, and features an amazing METAL solo.
“The Hellbound Heart”. Hidden behind that Lovecraftian title is a beast. As slow and menacing as this collection gets, built on big heavy grooves and another solo to kill. I am not totally sure exactly what it is about “Long Cold Dark” I really like. The balance and the sound are spot on. The structure of the song, the way it flows and fits. The soaring solo in to some very nasty riffs. Did I mention it was an instrumental? Could so easy have been a weak, self-indulgent waste of time. Instead one of the most relevant songs of the set.
Which brings us to the last track. The title track, “A Force Made Flesh” and what a track to finish up with, well leave you wanting more!
A half hour of sheer brilliance. I hate the man! No one should be talented enough to do all this on their own! He must have done a deal with the devil, or is he the alien on the cover? Either way you have to check this out, you are not going to be disappointed.
Necrokinesis – A Force Made Flesh is out August the 5th we suggest via BANDCAMP but sure it’ll be streaming as well!
#ukthrashers 