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Review & Track Premiere: The Necromancers, Of Blood and Wine

the necromancers of blood and wine

[Click play above to hear the premiere of ‘The Gathering’ from The Necromancers’ Of Blood and Wine. Album is out Oct. 5 on Ripple Music.]

Of Blood and Wine is the second full-length from The Necromancers in as many years, and among its accomplishments of songwriting and aesthetic craft, what it does is to bring into focus the direction of the band. Their Ripple Music-issued debut, Servants of the Salem Girl (review here), utilized many of the same stylistic elements — it’s only been a year, after all — but in hindsight was only hinting at the start of a development underway, and while it was easy to get caught up in the blend of cult rock, doom, heavy vibes and ’70s-style boogie that underscored the work of the Poitiers, France, four-piece, with the six tracks and 44 minutes of Of Blood and Wine, they showcase another aspect of their sound that was very much there all along: its forward potential. In some cases, like the swaying groove and bluesy leads in the first-half buildup of the 10-minute penultimate “Lust,” it’s a question of patience and production.

While there’s still an urgency and a tension at work, particularly in its later reaches, “Lust” is emblematic of the development in both, but from the uptempo boogie of opener “Join the Dead Ones” — adding a bit of Ghost in guitarist Tom Cornière‘s vocals during the verse before the gruff chorus takes hold, fueled by his own riffs and the deft rhythmic turns of bassist Simon Evariste and drummer Benjamin Rousseau while Robin Genais‘ leads mark the transition back to the verse afterward — to the consuming fullness of tone brought forth in closer “The Gathering,” The Necromancers hone an engrossing fluidity through a graceful two-sided offering that, even more than the debut, makes their approach their own. To wit, the post-Iron Maiden gallop and “Heaven and Hell” bassline in second track and longest cut “Erzebeth” (12:41) combine with Cornière‘s melodic and shouted vocals and the general warmth of tone in the recording to create something classic in its root but thoroughly modern in presentation.

One gets the sense that these will only continue to become key elements The Necromancers‘ collective sonic persona, but rather than let the listener speculate on where they might go, Of Blood and Wine demands attention in the now, “Erzebeth” stomping toward its midsection beneath a switched-on plotted solo from Genais that leads to proggy shuffle in an instrumental jam and one of the record’s more fervent thrusts. It’s not until nearly 10 minutes in that the vocals return, and from their spoken comeback, The Necromancers cleverly make their way back to the hook to close out and give way to the quiet 2:39 brooder of a title-track, a showcase for Cornière‘s emergence as a frontman — a not insignificant subplot to the album — and a demonstration of the diversity of approach in the core of their songwriting. It is much to their credit that Of Blood and Wine flows as easily as it does, and that they never seem out of place through their stylistic changes or to lose the overarching atmosphere that’s so crucial in tying the songs together.

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To an extent, side A and B mirror each other. Both begin with an upbeat 5:44 kick in “Join the Dead Ones” and “Secular Lord,” though the latter dispenses with the first-minute album-intro-style riff in favor of a more immediate push, and then move into longer fare with “Erzebeth” on side A and “Lust” on side B. It’s in the third cut on each side that the real departure happens, since side A rounds out with “Of Blood and Wine” and side B caps with “The Gathering”‘s seven-minute doomery, making its way with due moodiness and a bit of subtlety to the final payoff of the entirety, with extra impact seeming to come from Rousseau‘s bassdrum and Evariste‘s low end as they stomp noisily out, ending with a horror sample of chains and screams and a ringing bell. Witch burning? It would be on theme, if nothing else. Either way, that conclusion comes after The Necromancers find their most active swing on “Secular Lord,” with its catchy central riff and adrenaline-fueled build in the second half, the band leaving behind some of their ’70s-ism in favor of harder-hitting push.

There’s room in “Lust” for both sides to come together, but it’s important again to consider the fluidity with which the band execute their material. They’re not in a rush, and they’re never really still, even on the title-track, but with an excellent sense of tempo and rhythmic motion, they build a momentum in fast and slow, loud and quiet movements that allows for the exploration in the middle third of “Lust” to have a context beyond itself, so that it’s not necessarily about indulgence so much as expanding the atmosphere of the album as a whole. It also serves in its emergent and fleeting heft as a precursor to what the closer has on offer, and one can hear again how the pieces tie to each other as “Lust” hits its climax with a last chorus and “The Gathering” creeps its way in with a first minute not entirely dissimilar from what started “Join the Dead Ones” before its full nod unfurls, topped with chants and turning to a spacious verse that trades back to the full-boar riff and chanting as a kind of semi-hook.

Much of the second half of the finale is given to the capstone movement, and rightly so. When one considers Of Blood and Wine as a whole work, its end in the final three or four minutes of “The Gathering” is nothing if not earned, and it underscores just how clearly The Necromancers intend that the album should be taken in its entirety. I said earlier that one doesn’t want to speculate about where they’ll go sonically their next time out, and I stick by that as they could develop in any number of directions, but a central achievement of their sophomore offering is that it brings their influences together into a cohesive, malleable oneness that is theirs almost entirely, while also highlighting the potential unfolding in their craft. That one should think of their future prospects while hearing these songs is something in itself, but more important is the realization that The Necromancers are already beginning to bring that potential to fruition.

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