About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

A sickening debut built with the remains of jagged riffs and chilling shrieks.

Pros

• Effectively mixes black, drone, and ambient.
• Raspy screams are horrifying.
• Bleak atmosphere that would make Wrest proud.

Cons

• The 27-minute title track will be too much for many to bear.
• "Worship The Sunn ((O))" is an out-of-place drone tribute.

Description

• Released November 2nd, 2010 on Flenser Recordings.
• Necrite’s debut album.

• Album was recorded over the course of two-and-a-half years.

Guide Review - Necrite - 'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi'

Leviathan suffocated the listener to the point of death, only for Necrite to finish the job on their debut Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. This is black metal only in the loosest terms. Necrite is less about blasting ahead and more about creeping under the skin like a parasite. Over an hour of music is spread out over the course of five hopeless tracks. Raw doesn’t even begin to cover Necrite’s music; it’s rancid and downright unsettling. This is the equivalent of the “August Underground” trilogy rolled up into one sonic package.

There are no instances of melody to be found. Even when the band slows down, the atmosphere is dense and void of life. The song titles aren’t gleefully ironic or tongue-in-cheek; they are apt descriptions of the depression that lies ahead. It’s a forewarning, a precaution for the timid that what you see is what you get. “Bathing Open Wounds With Shards Of Glass” is a clear indication that there won’t be any pleasant moods to be heard.

The band seems to fancy lengthy excursions, with three of the tracks going beyond the ten-minute spot. This allows the San Francisco trio to maneuver drone and ambient pieces in with ample space. “A Mass For The Harvest Of Death” goes for minutes with little more than feedback, flesh-stripping vocals and slowly-plucked guitar notes. Transitioning from that into tremolo-heavy abuse is done with expertise, not coming across as jumbled and awkward. The only odd number is their nod to noteworthy drone icons Sunn O))) on “Worship The Sunn ((O)).”

The track guaranteed to draw some buzz is the 27-minute title track. Excruciating and drawn-out, it takes a good 15 minutes before the song even gets to mid-tempo. The first half is calculating in its tense pace, a nail-biting start that reaches obscene levels of depravity on the ears. The track is Necrite’s statement to the world, a dark opus that feeds on the fears of the innocence and the souls of the blessed.

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi is Latin for “thus passes the glory of the world.” There is no better title to depict Necrite’s mindset on their debut album. It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but those that worship the epic style of black metal will be engrossed. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi is captivating from an atmospheric perspective, marking a worthy start for a band that will find a following deep in the underground.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.