Photo by Josh Massara, Permanent Ephemera Photography
“The Thing From Another World” is the latest single from Denver blackened thrash alchemists, NECROPANTHER. The track comes by way of the band’s impending new full-length, The Book Of Change, set for release on November 13th.
NECROPANTHER fuses thrash, death, and black metal into a distinctive sound built on blistering riffs, intricate arrangements, and an instinct for memorable songwriting. Unbound by traditional genre conventions, the band embraces musical experimentation while maintaining the intensity and aggression at the heart of extreme metal.
Reflects guitarist Joe Johnson on “The Thing From Another World,” “This is our sprawling set piece for the middle of the record – ‘sprawling’ is a relative term for a band like us. It’s a lean, direct blackened thrash song with a multi-partite orchestrated melodic middle section. One of the things that’s fun to me about this one is that we break down the song and then build that melody together. [Guitarist/vocalist] Paul [Anop] and I play the harmony part together, and then I take a solo. We love Thin Lizzy and Helloween-influenced melodic metal, so that moment of harmony feels great. I can’t wait to play it live. As a soloist, the changes are harmonically challenging, which is something we’ve done a few times on this record, so it’s great for me to get to have that build into a key, develop the theme, change keys and bring it back to recapitulation.
“The Thing From Another World,’” he continues, “is literally a shapeshifting creature, so in terms of the narrative arc of the record, I think of it as a modern, materialistic manifestation of otherworldly diabolical consequences from some of the historic misdeeds and bargains we see in stories like The Tempest or Faust. You called down the thunder – now you’ve got it!”
Writes No Clean Singing in part, “Like [first single] ‘The Tempest,’ this one is a high-octane romp — and like the cover art, it’s very colorful. After a couple of percussive blasts, it jumps from the gate with drums galloping and a fleet-fingered riff that pulsates, sizzles, and squirms. Once again, the vocals expel monstrous roars, hair-on-fire screams, and strangled snarls, like a bestiary choir. Once again, the band rhythmically vault and veer, and they switch up the tempos and the riffs repeatedly so that heads will not stop spinning.
“Here too you’ll find another connection to the cover art besides the general colorfulness and sharp-fanged viciousness of the music: It includes an extended solo that’s freakishly alien in addition to being technically jaw-dropping, wildly inventive, and jubilantly wild. It’s likely to leave you smiling broadly (and possibly drooling).”
Stream NECROPANTHER’s “The Thing From Another World” HERE.
With their fifth full-length album, The Book Of Change, NECROPANTHER explores the nature of transformation through both concept and composition. The album features tightly constructed songs, unexpected shifts in tempo and texture, and an expanding range of musical influences. It’s a record that reflects the band’s willingness to challenge its own creative boundaries without sacrificing the power and immediacy of its music.
Comments Johnson, “The Book Of Change explores this concept of metamorphosis from classic science fiction, horror and literary works, including The Tempest, The Thing, The Fly, Faust, and the video game Rampage. These works inspired us to explore something new that focused on physical transformation, evolution, body horror, and the strangeness of things that are new and unknown.”
The Book Of Change, which features artwork by Max Sherman was produced by NECROPANTHER, engineered by Felipe Patino at Green Door Recordings in Denver, Colorado, was mixed by Kurt Ballou (Converge, Isis, Mastodon, High On Fire etc.) at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts and mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Chelsea Wolfe, Zeal & Ardor etc.) at West West Side Music in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.
NECROPANTHER’s The Book Of Change will be released on CD and digital formats.
Find preorders at Bandcamp HERE where first single, “The Tempest,” can be streamed.
The Book Of Change Track Listing:
1. The Tempest
2. Caliban
3. Ariel’s Song
4. Prospero
5. Faust
6. Mephistopheles
7. The Thing From Another World
8. Rampage / Scum Labs
9. Seven Mile Slasher
10. The Veil Of Flesh
11. Chopin Rediscovered Waltz – Found In New York, 2024 (Instrumental)
12. Transmogrification (Instrumental)
13. Thrash Or Die (Instrumental)
NECROPANTHER:
Paul Anop – guitar, vocals
Marcus Corich – bass, vocals
Joe Johnson – guitar
Adam Frost – drums
https://www.necropanther.com
https://www.facebook.com/Necropanther
https://www.instagram.com/necropanther
https://necropanther.bandcamp.com