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Oh, hell yeah. This is the stuff; I'm quick to bitch about the death metal genre and its current state, so it's literally a breath of fresh air to hear the latest album from Germany's own Necros Christos. This is my first taste of the band, and by the gods is it a good taste.

First things first, though: Temples and gates. To the uninitiated you're probably thinking what the fuck. Well Necros Christos have a penchant for interludes which they've entitled temples and gates, making up over half of the track listing of Doom of the Occult. Now make no mistake about it, this is going to be a definite sore point for some people, I don't see the problem though, as the majority of these run just under a minute, and I honestly think they add nicely to the atmosphere here. A lot of them have a middle-eastern feel which is cool.

Anyways enough about that, more important are the actual tracks on Doom of the Occult, which by the way happen to fucking smoke. This is pure dirty old school death metal, with a face-removing guitar tone, mammoth drumming and excellent growls. The band aren't entirely backwards and don't solely rely on paying homage to the old guard, there is also a subtle black and doom edge to the sound which is a nice touch. The lead guitar playing is fantastic too; see the solo in "Hathor of Dendera" for proof.

Overall Doom of the Occult is an otherworldly slice of great death metal wrapped up in the dusty and arcane temples and gates giving Necros Christos a bizarre and unique feel. Highly recommended to death metal fans, and I'm sure fans outside the genre will find something exciting here too.