Style: experimental black metal, dissonant black metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Infant Annihilator, Frontierer
Country: ?
Release date: 25 January 2025
This is it, everybody: my last review. It was fun while it lasted, but as soon as Sam reads this I will be fired1. He started this blog to review, like, power/prog and crap, and here I am covering stuff from a goregrind label. Not only that, but I need to get into the nitty gritty of some unsavory theology. With that said, I’m sorry, Sam, for taking over the rudder of this ship and steering us aground into an area of extreme metal I know you’d rather believe does not exist.
My peers made enough fun of me for my “car alarm metal” Scarcity last year, so I dread to think what they’ll have to say about Christian Necromancy’s microtonal, off-time ten-stringed lyre fed through enough distortion and amplification to be able to pick scrape (“The Leistae”). What you can hear of the lyre over the obnoxiously loud drums switches channels at slanted times in shrieking disagreement. Not once do the channels sync up, nor do the drums relent their hailstorm: this is thirty-four minutes in the meat-grinder—you’d better be comfy with noisy dissonance. On Bandcamp, Christian Necromancy also asserts that there is a fretless bass on The Pederast, but it’s wholly lost in the mix. But despite being completely obnoxious, out of time, and out of tune, The Pederast is occasionally compelling musically to me for reasons I don’t quite understand myself. Perhaps I am a masochist or maybe I like seeing how far metal can be pushed—I mean, the idea of a distorted ten-stringed lyre is cool. Sam would tell me I’ve simply lost the plot, that my mind is too far gone. I think The Pederast is musical pornography, obscene but strangely addictive2.
Christian Necromancy are (wanna-be) theologists, however, and the music is merely an oracle for them to spread their gospel. With in-depth analysis of Greek source texts including medical journals, the Septuagint, and other documents, The Pederast’s lyrics tell a classic tale in metal… sex abuse of minors in the Church… wait, what? Christian Necromancy and their scripture are alleging that Jesus Christ himself was a pederast with what they say is pure historical fact. The lyrics are upsetting, but even with claims that they use direct sources, they read as pure conspiracy theory—I say that as someone who dislikes religion. For instance, Christian Necromancy are certain that Mark 14:51-523 are the only two verses you need to destroy the faith, but they’re just not very damning, even less so in the original Greek context from my research (I am no theological slouch, believe it or not).
The Pederast does have some undeniably banger lyrics, at least. For instance, “BEHOLD THE PENIS CHRIST” goes unreasonably hard. But actual thesis claims are harder to believe, especially since I cannot find a single primary source OR secondary source about them. I cannot find information that mystery cults venerated Christ precisely because he was proficient at trafficking child slaves (“The Leistae”). Similarly, the entire premise of “Ejaculated Antichrist” revolves around sexual drug rituals that I just cannot find any proof of existing. Similarly, who else besides Christian Necromancy has forwarded the claim that JC holds up two fingers in Christian iconography as a way to symbolize that he was ready to insert drugs into the anuses of children? Please feel free to send over your sources, Christian Necromancy, but The Pederast reads as conspiracy, grasping at straws.
By reviewing The Pederast as I am, I’m putting myself in serious danger since Christian Necromancy claim on Bandcamp: “LET ANYONE INTERFERING WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF THIS INFORMATION BE PUNISHABLE BY A VIOLENT DEATH.” Wait, I’m undeniably aiding in transmission if anything. But it has to be said… if Christian Necromancy’s message is so urgent, why release it in such an abstruse style of black metal. Shouldn’t they perform something a bit more, y’know, marketable to spread their philosophy? I understand this is a more authentic artistic vision, but they are the ones interfering with the transmission of their information by making it impossible to listen to.
I attempted to engage with both the music and philosophy of Christian Necromancy, and both are equally over-the-top absurd. The Pederast is a comical album despite the horrifying nature of its lyrics. Something drew me to it initially, though, and I’m intrigued by how the project will develop. With my score for this, maybe I’m safe from being fired since at least the blog will keep its prog credibility. Phew.
Recommended tracks: Let the Children Come
You may also like: Effluence, Theophonos, Jute Gyte, Scarcity, Botanist, Ὁπλίτης
Final verdict: 3/10
Related links: Bandcamp
Label: Putrefactive Recordings – Bandcamp | Official Website
Christian Necromancy is:
– ?
- Or worse, my mom will read it on the blog and I’ll be excommunicated from my own family. ↩︎
- Ummm please ignore that diction once you get into the next couple paragraphs… ↩︎
- “A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.” ↩︎
0 Comments