Review by JD on August 8, 2012.

Thrash has been long one of the more dismissed parts of metal. Overlooked for years after its massive arrival with the Big Four (you know them...duh) and not to mention the European Thrash scene as well. I always thought that Thrash was one of the best suited styles for metal ever. Its power, speed and nasty riffage that makes any parent or religious leader run away in terror.

Germany has come out with some amazing Thrash acts over the years. Most notable are Sodom, Kreator and Destruction - but only few knew who Necronomicon is. They were in the shadows of the German Titanic three of Thrash in the 80's, yet Necronomicon were still as good as the big boys but was never rewarded. Sounding more raw and heavy with almost a Venom overtone to their brand of Thrash, Necronomicon had a sound that was as abrasive as rubbing your nuts on a cactus as you slid down the trunk then hitting a vat of iodine at the end - but held catchy and headbanging inducing melodies.

Old school Thrash is alive and kicking ass like some wild demon beast levelling Tokyo and in the process is making most Nu-Metal out there very scared of their talent and power they are bringing. The Thrash center of my brain was so pleasured by tracks like the neck brace inducing 'Unleashed' or the over the top masterful shred-thrashing onslaught of 'Pandora's Box' that made me feel that people finally got how good this style was and this band brought back the Thrash.

I am so stoked. Thrash is alive and beating rap metal an Nu-Metal ( someone has to!) to a bloodied and pitiful pulp. I have been seeing this shift for a while, and it took an original Thrash band to bring it back and make it a living beast once more. All I have to say is thank you, Necronomicon. Now go out and take over the world - and smack Rap Metal once for me.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 9
Originality: 9 (they are original)
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by JD on August 8, 2012.

Thrash has been long one of the more dismissed parts of metal. Overlooked for years after its massive arrival with the Big Four (you know them...duh) and not to mention the European Thrash scene as well. I always thought that Thrash was one of the best suited styles for metal ever. Its power, speed and nasty riffage that makes any parent or religious leader run away in terror.

Germany has come out with some amazing Thrash acts over the years. Most notable are Sodom, Kreator and Destruction - but only few knew who Necronomicon is. They were in the shadows of the German Titanic three of Thrash in the 80's, yet Necronomicon were still as good as the big boys but was never rewarded. Sounding more raw and heavy with almost a Venom overtone to their brand of Thrash, Necronomicon had a sound that was as abrasive as rubbing your nuts on a cactus as you slid down the trunk then hitting a vat of iodine at the end - but held catchy and headbanging inducing melodies.

Old school Thrash is alive and kicking ass like some wild demon beast levelling Tokyo and in the process is making most Nu-Metal out there very scared of their talent and power they are bringing. The Thrash center of my brain was so pleasured by tracks like the neck brace inducing 'Unleashed' or the over the top masterful shred-thrashing onslaught of 'Pandora's Box' that made me feel that people finally got how good this style was and this band brought back the Thrash.

I am so stoked. Thrash is alive and beating rap metal an Nu-Metal ( someone has to!) to a bloodied and pitiful pulp. I have been seeing this shift for a while, and it took an original Thrash band to bring it back and make it a living beast once more. All I have to say is thank you, Necronomicon. Now go out and take over the world - and smack Rap Metal once for me.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 9
Originality: 9 (they are original)
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by chrisc7249 on April 28, 2022.

Karnak is a rare example of a technical death metal outfit from the 1990s that lived to see themselves create more than one album without a split up, a rarity for the time. For every band like them, or perhaps Violent Dirge or Will 'o' Wisp, there's a dozen bands like Thormenthor, Tempestas, Catharsis and Succubus. This band emerged from the blossoming Italian scene that began to form in the early 1990s with bands like Sadist leading the way. 1997 was a very active year for technical death metal all across the world, as the scene began to prepare for the next millennium of bands - Karnak's debut coincided with many other debuts from bands such as Martyr, Capharnaum, Scenery and fellow country mates Algophobia and the aforementioned Will 'o' Wisp. Quite a tall task to stand out among such a wide variety of bands, so it should come as no surprise that Karnak is one of the least talked about of time and this album has yet to receive a review up until this point…

Karnak's twisted and mechanical sound, paired with its lackluster production must be grating to some ears, but there is some beauty that lies beneath this vile mass of cacophonic riffing. Yes, the production is far from the best, even for this time. The drums sound like they're programmed on a poor quality $300 electric drum kit made for children. The guitars and the riffs that accompany them are hard to decipher with just one listen, regardless of the quality of your speaker/headphones. The vocals are drowned in the background, yet the bass is surprisingly audible. This is one of those records where I go back and forth on whether or not this is a fretless bass, but I can't really tell even with repeated listens. Could be, could not be. Regardless, this is far from a clean sound and most people might classify it as downright atrocious, but there's interesting music to be heard here, and that's all I care about really…

Opener 'Hatred Within' kicks the album off by greeting the listener with dizzying technicality, with Death-like riffs crashing into one another, strung along jaggedly to create a wreckfest of labyrinthe riffing. This is followed by my personal favorite track, the head spinning 'Wings Of Destiny' which doubles down on the Death influence by making a song that can be equated to an even more frantic version of an "Individual Thought Patterns" cut. 'The Rapture Of Cremation' is a jarring mix of middle era Gorguts and prime Disharmonic Orchestra, with dissonant chugs and riffs that once again collide into one another with pure rage.

'Shroud For Jesus' and 'Perverted' take a trippier approach to their frantic playing with nods to Sadist and perhaps even Will 'o' Wisp. 'Magnify The Absolute Maledicent' and closer 'Estrangement Of Hesitation' are vicious displays of mind warping tech death, as if Atheist decided to rewrite their first three albums and the only drug they took was LSD for 3 months straight. 'In Silence' is perhaps the most chaotic of them all, sounding like an absolutely sick mash up of "Nespithe" and "Focus," again, heavily laced with LSD.

For all this blistering speed and challenging technicality, one would expect to be overwhelmed by the schizophrenic approach to death metal, but alas, I tend to sometimes get bored with this album, especially in the latter half. Nothing is particularly bad, however I feel the band's fragmented approach to jazzy tech death tends to wear thin despite the runtime being only 30 minutes. Regardless, there is good music to be had here, and the band certainly displays their skill and intensity and have set themselves up to impress in the future. I have not heard their follow up album which was released a few years later, but I imagine, with a better sound and some more focus on songwriting, the band has the potential to drop a 9 or even a 10 spot on me. For this one, a 7 will do. It's extremely interesting, the way they approach their off kilter technical death metal, and their influences shine bright in their sound - alas, it is a debut and the immaturity isn't avoidable. Still a good listen, and certainly one fans of the genre should try out at least once.

FFO: Disharmonic Orchestra, Death, Atheist

Favorite song: 'Wings Of Destiny'

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by chrisc7249 on April 28, 2022.

Karnak is a rare example of a technical death metal outfit from the 1990s that lived to see themselves create more than one album without a split up, a rarity for the time. For every band like them, or perhaps Violent Dirge or Will 'o' Wisp, there's a dozen bands like Thormenthor, Tempestas, Catharsis and Succubus. This band emerged from the blossoming Italian scene that began to form in the early 1990s with bands like Sadist leading the way. 1997 was a very active year for technical death metal all across the world, as the scene began to prepare for the next millennium of bands - Karnak's debut coincided with many other debuts from bands such as Martyr, Capharnaum, Scenery and fellow country mates Algophobia and the aforementioned Will 'o' Wisp. Quite a tall task to stand out among such a wide variety of bands, so it should come as no surprise that Karnak is one of the least talked about of time and this album has yet to receive a review up until this point…

Karnak's twisted and mechanical sound, paired with its lackluster production must be grating to some ears, but there is some beauty that lies beneath this vile mass of cacophonic riffing. Yes, the production is far from the best, even for this time. The drums sound like they're programmed on a poor quality $300 electric drum kit made for children. The guitars and the riffs that accompany them are hard to decipher with just one listen, regardless of the quality of your speaker/headphones. The vocals are drowned in the background, yet the bass is surprisingly audible. This is one of those records where I go back and forth on whether or not this is a fretless bass, but I can't really tell even with repeated listens. Could be, could not be. Regardless, this is far from a clean sound and most people might classify it as downright atrocious, but there's interesting music to be heard here, and that's all I care about really…

Opener 'Hatred Within' kicks the album off by greeting the listener with dizzying technicality, with Death-like riffs crashing into one another, strung along jaggedly to create a wreckfest of labyrinthe riffing. This is followed by my personal favorite track, the head spinning 'Wings Of Destiny' which doubles down on the Death influence by making a song that can be equated to an even more frantic version of an "Individual Thought Patterns" cut. 'The Rapture Of Cremation' is a jarring mix of middle era Gorguts and prime Disharmonic Orchestra, with dissonant chugs and riffs that once again collide into one another with pure rage.

'Shroud For Jesus' and 'Perverted' take a trippier approach to their frantic playing with nods to Sadist and perhaps even Will 'o' Wisp. 'Magnify The Absolute Maledicent' and closer 'Estrangement Of Hesitation' are vicious displays of mind warping tech death, as if Atheist decided to rewrite their first three albums and the only drug they took was LSD for 3 months straight. 'In Silence' is perhaps the most chaotic of them all, sounding like an absolutely sick mash up of "Nespithe" and "Focus," again, heavily laced with LSD.

For all this blistering speed and challenging technicality, one would expect to be overwhelmed by the schizophrenic approach to death metal, but alas, I tend to sometimes get bored with this album, especially in the latter half. Nothing is particularly bad, however I feel the band's fragmented approach to jazzy tech death tends to wear thin despite the runtime being only 30 minutes. Regardless, there is good music to be had here, and the band certainly displays their skill and intensity and have set themselves up to impress in the future. I have not heard their follow up album which was released a few years later, but I imagine, with a better sound and some more focus on songwriting, the band has the potential to drop a 9 or even a 10 spot on me. For this one, a 7 will do. It's extremely interesting, the way they approach their off kilter technical death metal, and their influences shine bright in their sound - alas, it is a debut and the immaturity isn't avoidable. Still a good listen, and certainly one fans of the genre should try out at least once.

FFO: Disharmonic Orchestra, Death, Atheist

Favorite song: 'Wings Of Destiny'

Rating: 7 out of 10