UMUR
"The Divine Art of Torture" is the third full-length studio album by US death metal act Necrophagia. The album was released through Season Of Mist in February 2003. It´s the successor to "Holocausto de la Morte" from 1998 and features an almost completely different lineup to the lineup who recorded the predecessor. The only remaining member is lead vocalist and band founder Killjoy. "The Divine Art of Torture" features a sextet lineup which among others includes keyboard player Mirai Kawashima from Japanese avant garde/progressive black metal act Sigh.
Stylistically the material on "The Divine Art of Torture" is horror/gore themed old school death metal. Old school to the point of sounding like this came out in 1987/1988 along with other pioneering death metal releases (including Necrophagia´s own debut album "Season of the Dead" from 1987), which were partially simple and brutal thrash with strong hardcore/punk influences in the rhythm work and in the riff style. If a comparison has to be made, I´d mention mid-90s Autopsy and Abscess as Necrophagia´s closest relatives. Killjoy performs some nicely aggressive growling vocals throughout the album, and Kawashima adds horror movie oriented keyboards/synth effects to the music. The latter element sometimes gives the material a twisted/eerie comical effect, but as the band´s lyrics and imagery are already in campy territory, I´m sure it´s exactly the effect Necrophagia were aiming at achieving.
"The Divine Art of Torture" features a raw sounding production job, which suits the rawness of the material perfectly, and although I wouldn´t call "The Divine Art of Torture" the greatest nor the most unique sounding death metal release, it´s still a good quality release, featuring well written and catchy tracks, authentic and energetic musical performances, and a firm grip on the macabre/occult. It´s an album which works well in all departments, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.