Necuratul are a new project by John ‘Weird Wolf’ Kohn, the guy you might know from his collaboration in bands like Ekthros, Prosanctus Inferi, Black Funeral, Father Befouled or Vomitrocity. Indeed, not bad at all, is it?! Together with a drummer (who calls himself Sanguinator), Weird Wolf recorded the demo tape Sanguine Lupus Graves, which was originally released in November 2013 via Forever Plagues Records, a pretty long-existing label from Pennsylvania that remained pretty ‘silent’ throughout the years, but that resurrected with grandeur since a couple of years in order to become one of the most interesting underground labels from North America.
The Sanguine Lupus Graves tape comes in an edition of three hundred copies, and I am pretty sure this will result in a full album (vinyl or CD) in a very near future, probably still via Forever Plagued. The five hymns last for about twenty two minutes and bring a rhythmic and energetic form of traditional Black Metal with the typifying underground sound. There are lots of changes within the speed, balancing in between oppressively doomy to thrashing fast, with everything in between. Nice too are the burzumesque leads, the eerie synths (in the opening song), the grim and raw screams, and the splendidly executed drums. On top of it there are several haunting parts; listen to the creepy and eccentric outro on opening track Crimson Blessed, and share my vision…
In general this release brings nothing renewing at all, despite some specific additions. This is traditional, little minimal (and even slightly Nordic-based) Underground Black Metal inspired by the Second Wave, rather European-sounding than North American (Norway, Sweden and Poland might have thousands of comparable bands or projects). but once again, the quality of song writing and performance, in combination with the sound quality and variation, make Necuratul a more-than-average project, and Sanguine Lupus Graves a more-than-worthy product. If you are a fan of the (European) old styled current (the earliest works of Dark Funeral, Darkthrone, Enthroned, Gorgoroth, Behemoth etc., to give you an idea…), then you will adore this material. It isn’t an assumption; it’s a statement, a truth, a reality - believe me, and trust me for that…