NECROMANDUS

Necromandus was an obscure band who sounded like a crossbreen between Cressida, Yes and Black Sabbath. That is also the case on this live album. That and a lot of folk rock too.

The sound is pretty bad throughout and this very much feels like a bootleg. But it has been offically released, whatever that means these days. Necromandus big problem was the lack of some truly great songs although they were great on their instruments and their sound was also great. The details of their music is being drowned out on this shoddy live recording. But it is still pretty obvious this was a good band in their heydays.

Bad sound means this is a collector's items for their fans and not for the rest of us. The casual listener should go for their studio album only.

2 stars

Necromandus was from Cumbria in the north west of England. Cumbria has and is still fostering a lot of good prog and heavy bands. There was a very healthy live scene in Cumbria and the like of The Beatles, Black Widow and in particular Black Sabbath was touring this area quite extensive. I doubt if Black Sabbath is playing Cumbria next year though. And their connection to Necromandus is quite important because Tony Iommi took Necromandus under his wings and managment.

I got the impression that I was in for a heavy slab of metal when I saw the band name and album title. I was wrong. Necromandus has been described as a crossover between Black Sabbath and Yes. A good description in my view. Necromandus is a bit more mainstream and also includes influences from Cressida, Fruupp and The Beatles in their sound and music. There are also some US west coast rock (Eagles) and folk rock in their sound too. The music is surprising melodic, but not soft as in pop.

The problem this band faced is the lack of any killer tracks on this album. Hence the obscurity of both the band and this album. But a song like the rather haunting beautiful Homicidal Psychopath is a great song. The rest of the material is good too and this makes this an album I am sure many in PA would really enjoy. Probably more than I do enjoy it. Check it out.

3.5 stars

The track I find most favorable is "Morgidisimo". Once you hear the dark classical sound of that song, it can really feal your soul and draws you in to it. Another track that's good is the "Orexis Of Death" track. Although not that heavy because I LOVE heavy stuff, it has the driving force and drama that can also pull you in to it. But what's even more cool about it, is that TONI IOMI from Black Sabbath has actually produced this album.

Well unfortunately, I havn't really heard that much songs on it exept for "Morgidisimo", Orexis Of Death", and "Nightjar". I usually hear those songs on YouTube and there's not much material I've discovered yet from this band. But one day, I will find that Orexis Of Death album and listen to every one of their songs and demos. Now get out there an Listen, Learn, and most of all, Listen AND Learn!