Necromantia
Crossing the Fiery Path

Spring: a time of rebirth and joy, warmth finally peeks through and winter bids farewell, promising to return the following year. Perhaps it's not the most suitable season to listen to black metal, to immerse oneself in dark and icy worlds fueled by hatred, despair, and crude misanthropy.

But in the end, who decided that black metal must be frigid? Why can it only exist amid fjords and conifer forests? Why can't we have a bit of warm and passionate black metal?

The reality is that, if you search carefully, you can indeed find warm and passionate black metal. Just pick up an atlas and focus on a peninsula closer to ours; you don't need to look too far north in search of Norse inscriptions, just shift slightly to the right, and among all those little islands, you will discover unchristian abysses not inclined to brotherly love. Yes, it seems that in Athens and its surroundings, the black seed of damned music has taken root, and perhaps the name Rotting Christ doesn't sound entirely new to some. However, surprise, surprise, it seems that in Attica, they were not the only ones indulging in blasphemous distortions and screeching screams. Indeed, there exists a core of bands united under the banner of the black flame. Naturally, as in Norway, the various members all know each other, and they have often performed together as guests on each other's albums or in side projects.

So if Rotting Christ are to be considered the pioneers of the Hellenic black scene, the number two spot can easily be assigned to Necromantia, a unique band that replaces the rhythm guitar with an eight-string bass, played by a certain Baron Blood; as is known in black metal, pseudonyms abound. The driving force of the band is Magus Wampyr Daoloth, owner of a recording studio and a label dedicated to heavy music, to which the vitality of this small Mediterranean music scene owes much.

“Crossing the Fiery Path” (1993) is the band's debut, with a very diverse lineup featuring percussion, piano, keyboards, and the aforementioned eight-string bass. It intrigues and surprises because it has absolutely nothing in common with the classic true Norwegian black metal. The style is very 1980s, with gallops supported by the warm sound of the bass and a predominant sense of theatricality that continuously screams Mercyful Fate. Sticking to the song form is not part of the band's plans, as they are not afraid to dare and stray from the path with instrumental tracks and long atmospheric interludes, as the thirteen minutes of the opener “The Warlock” certainly demonstrate. The feeling is that they never want to create songs simply to "rock out" and excite young, beardless metalheads, but rather aim to elevate everything to create a form of cultured black metal, as much as that is possible, of course. The result is astonishing and can satisfy not only those who have never heard of Hellenic black metal but also those who are very familiar with “Thy Mighty Contract,” as the difference is notable even concerning Rotting Christ. It becomes natural then to designate Necromantia as the spiritual heirs of King Diamond and company as they aim to achieve the same goal.

In essence, a pleasant testimony of how variety hides in every genre, even in the most unsuspected ones.