Band:	Necrodeath
Album:	The 7 Deadly Sins
Style:	Blackened thrash metal
Release date:	May 13, 2014
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Sloth
02. Lust
03. Envy
04. Pride
05. Wrath
06. Gluttony
07. Greed
08. Thanatoid [bonus]
09. Graveyard Of The Innocents [bonus]

Italian veterans Necrodeath, like many groups with 30 years and 11 albums to their names, like to play Motörhead roulette with their releases. They adhere to the same formula time after time, breaking ranks for nobody, and the quality of the album lies completely in the thrall of chance.

The 7 Deadly Sins succeeds not through brilliance of songwriting, though in that department Necrodeath have unwittingly outmatched most of the album's predecessors; nay, with a band like this, presentation often makes all the difference. On this album, Necrodeath unleash a kind of energy the likes of which has rarely been heard from them - the kind of energy that would have saved records like Draculea from an early death, the kind of energy that can take 30 minutes of run-of-the-mill Venom worship and turn it into something not only listenable but powerful. Ironically, it is "Sloth" that leads off the album with an explosive punch of adrenaline-soaked thrash.

Definitely among the better-produced albums of Necrodeath's catalogue (though not so much as to rob them entirely of their unpolished edge), The 7 Deadly Sins pushes through each of its titular concepts with enough convincing aggression to throw suspicion off its questionable supply of ideas. "Sloth" and "Gluttony" stand out most heavily against the backdrop of meat-and-potatoes death thrash, with a series of what could be called real riffs and the most intense care in performance. "Greed," too, is a high point with its varied approach, and seems to be what the album builds up to. What's in between might tend to run together, but the passion with which the songs are torn through makes them enjoyable, if not memorable.

The 7 Deadly Sins also earns points for lasting about as long as it should. I know and you know that something caught halfway between Bulldozer and Venom with fewer noteworthy riffs can only assault you for so long before it gets monotonous, and fortunately Necrodeath know this as well. With only seven tracks, as the title might suggest, this album avoids wearing out its welcome.

If you've heard one Necrodeath album, you've heard them all, but if you plan on hearing one, The 7 Deadly Sins isn't a half-bad choice. It may not be complex or innovative, and perhaps not as strong as albums like 100% Hell or Black As Pitch, but it's fast and furious enough to make its mark on Necrodeath's discography, and possibly beyond.