Necrodeath (IT)

About

One of Italy's earliest extreme metal acts, Necrodeath came out of Genova in the mid 1980s drawing heavily from the sounds of Slayer, Kreator, Venom, Bathory and Celtic Frost. Their debut demo "The Shining Pentagram" quickly earned them a foothold in the underground metal scene, and the first two albums "Into the Macabre" and "Fragments of Insanity" built a cult following that has never fully gone away. The band split after that second record, only to regroup in 1998 with a new vocalist, Flegias, and push forward with more than a decade of consistently heavy output. Over the years Necrodeath put out a string of albums ranging from thrash driven brutality to more eclectic heavy metal territory. Guitarist Pier Gonella joined as a full member in 2008 and has been a key part of their sound ever since, also recording several albums at his own MusicArt studios. Their 2007 record "Draculea" took the unusual step of centering its concept around Vlad Tepes, giving a clear sense of the band's appetite for dark and ambitious themes. In 2024 they announced they would call it quits for good, with their final album "Arimortis" arriving in early 2025.