Review by Fernando on July 23, 2025.

In between so much death metal revivalism, one type of sound that I haven’t heard much from is that old school underground brand of death metal that leans towards black metal but with a certain sense of primitivism and an emphasis on the low end. Granted, many bands have followed the path trailed by early Beherit, Incantation and Profanatica, but not many have had a spotlight, except for Dead Congregation, but I digress. Today, we have the sophomore record by Chilean death metal duo, Telluric Necro-Parasites, titled Feel The Nocturnal Energy From The Emanations Of The Niche, released from Mexican underground label Iron Blood And Death Corporation.

Given the fact that I mentioned bands that are known for their downtuned and chaotic sound, you’d think you can expect that same style? And you’d be partially correct. Telluric Necro-Parasites definitely fit the category of blasphemous and barbaric death metal with hints of black metal to enhance the brutality, complete with evil-sounding riffs and stripped back instrumentation and vocals that range from guttural to shrieking. All these boxes and more are ticked by the duo and with immense gusto. Esteban Guenul who handles the strings and vocals and drummer Héctor Cuevas are adept connoisseurs of the genre and its many intricacies, while at the same time, their performance is deliberately crude but not without finesse, as they’re working on the framework of the past greats by focusing on the feeling rather than just technical knowhow, however that doesn’t mean their amateurish, far from it, while the instrumentation and stripped to its barest essentials to get the right sound and atmosphere, they do show their technical chops, particularly in the slower sections, moreover, the band have a great ear for slow, dirge-like atmospherics that give the music that distinct evil vibe that a lot of bands nowadays seem to struggle to capture correctly.

However, where Telluric Necro-Parasites shines is by being unapologetically Chilean, they pay proper respect to the past, but the sound the band espouses is without a doubt, Chilean death metal, in fact, the almost primitive instrumentation and performances proudly evoke the Chilean extreme metal scene of the 90’s and 00’s. The guitar and bass tone, drum fills and guttural growls specially reminds me of old Execrator and Undercroft, but with a modern twist. If I had to nitpick, and it is a nitpick, is how the production is both a blessing and a curse, on one hand, you can truly appreciate the individual performances of the band and it sounds powerful and overwhelming, on the other hand, the primitive approach of the instrumentation is put front and center and that will certainly be a litmus test of sorts. While the band do a great job at incorporating various soundscapes and effects for their dark atmospheric passages, and compliment it with more technicality, the bulk of the album is kept simple and straightforward. In a very weird way, the record feels anachronistic; it has the sheen of modern death metal and hi-fidelity recordings, but with the DIY primitivism of 90’s Chilean underground metal, so it will be up to each listener if this is a welcomed sound, or not their cup of tea.

Overall, I went into this record blind and was very surprised, while the clash between the modern production and stripped back instrumentation was a bit of a hurdle to overcome, it was still a fascinating record to check, and one I recommend to anyone who wants a different type of death metal that’s not in line with any trend or fad.

Rating: 8 out of 10