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Whip together some old school Thrash; throw in some blackened lyrics and harsh, almost Death, vocals and turn the blender to "hurricane" and what emerges will be a lot like Nekromathteon's Divinity of Death. Considering the name of the band and the style of the logo, your first thought might be Black/Death, but not so. Early Slayer (I'm talking Show No Mercy), Venom, Celtic Frost and even Sacred Reich provide accurate reference points.

Nekromantheon weave a surprising amount of melody into this satanic tapestry of hell-fueled double bass drums, jagged riffs and down right evil vocals. Divinity of Death would have fit nicely in your record collection between Black Metal and Surf Nicaragua, were this 1986. Nekromantheon are not about straying from the path well worn for over 25 years. They follow the road as straight and true as any of their forebears and sound just as good. The energy of the album is infectious and the performances are wonderfully authentic. Songs like "Divinity of Death" and the unholy, if a bit short, "Tortured in Tartaros," featuring the blood curdling line "drown your fucking corpse in my BLOOD!" exemplify Nekromantheon's aggressive yet melodic approach. When you get right down to it, Divinity of Death is a hell of a lot of fun.

If blackened Thrash is your bread and butter, you're likely to enjoy Divinity of Death quite a bit, but it also possesses a lot of appeal to any fan of 80s old school metal. A quality start for Nekromantheon.