Nekromantheon is a new Thrash Metal band from Norway. Probably not a lot of people have heard of them before, unless they are total insders. That's why I asked drummer Kick to give us a short rundown of their band history first of all: "Nekromantheon was born in the small town of Kolbotn, Norway, around the of summer 2005, when me and Arse (the guitarist) realised that very few bands at the time played the kind of music we love most, which is old school Thrash Metal. We needed a bass player, so we asked Sindre (from Obliteration) and for the vocals we contacted Biffen, a friend from a local punk band called Rabalder. It turned out Biffen wasn't sharing our passion for Thrash in the same way the rest of us do, so he left the band in 2008, after contributing on the 'We're Rotting' EP and the 'Speed 'N' Spikes Vol. III' 7". Nekromantheon sounds like an interesting name. And that's indeed the case as Kick explains: "Arse came up with the idea, after being on vacation in Greece. I think a literal translation would read 'Temple of the Dead', and it is an actual temple in Parga where the ancient Greeks went to communicate with the dead. That's also where some of our promo pics have been taken, including the one on the back of the vinyl! I think we've misspelt the name though, hahahaha!"

'Divinity Of Death' is the first longplayer by Nekromantheon and Kick explains what it is all about: "There are 11 tracks on the album, with varied influences. It kicks off with an homage to the legendary South American scene, with the track 'Gringo Death'. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to hear references to Mutilator, Sepultura, Vulcano etc. The majority of songs are focused (lyrically) around ancient Greek mythology and Greek/Roman history, with a pretty varied feel to it. None of the tracks sound alike, at least not in our opinion. We close the deal with a beer-drinking, mug-swinging, hell-raising party track entitled "Alcoholy Terror", which is surely gonna cause a few whiplashes. Consider yourself warned!" It is no wonder then that Nekromantheon's influences mostly come from old school Thrash: "Of course in Nekromantheon the major influence is old school Thrash, yes. But that doesn't mean that's all we listen to. Our influences spread from Voivod to Trouble, Darkthrone to Repulsion, and we gladly listen to Emerson, Lake And Palmer, Rush, Magma, and loads of non-Metal bands as well. I think it's safe to say we pick up some pieces here and there, but we've pretty much agreed on recapturing the spirit of some old time Thrash classics, in the veins of Slayer's 'Hell Awaits', Dark Angel's 'Darkness Descends' and Sacrifice's 'Forward To Termination'".

Norway always had a small but very fine Metal scene (even before the Black Metal exploison of the '90's), so what are Nekromantheon's Top 5 Nowegian Metal albums of all time. Of course it is hard for Kick to speak for everyone in the band: "That's a tough question, and I think all the members of the band would answer differently on that one. But, as I'm the one answering, I'd say: Darkthrone for bearing the Black Metal flag onwards as a beacon for those that follow. Aura Noir for daring to play Thrash Metal in the mid-nineties, despite the Black Metal hysteria. Deathhammer for hailing the roots of Thrash, being a constant kick in our asses to release something even dirtier. Orcustus for reinventing Black Metal, the way it's supposed to sound like, and without being cheesy. Cadaver for their brutal form of Death Metal, which hasn't been seen a lot in the Norwegian scene".
When 'Divinity Of Death' sees the light of day on High Roller Records, the band will soon depart for an American tour. Kick is looking forward to that no doubt: "Yes, it's our first time playing in the States, even out of Norway. We hope to open up some American eyes to Norwegian Thrash, and show them that us vikings have more to offer than Satyricon and Keep Of Kalessin (yuck!)."

Source: High Roller Records