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Take a good look at the album cover of this debut album by Australian blackened thrashers Apocalyptic Annihilation. Necrothrash is a great example of an album that sounds much like what one would expect after seeing the album cover. It has an unpolished sound but focused songwriting, much like a strong demo.

The music here would feel familiar to fans of bands like Midnight, although Midnight put more fun into their overall package whereas this one is darker-tinged and a bit more focused on the speedy passages at times. All instruments have a very live quality in this recording, contributing to the less polished sound of the record. The drums are most noticeably so, which is somewhat refreshing amidst a sea of bands recording and overdoing the values on the drum tracking and ultimately losing touch with what drums should really sound like. However, this lack of attention to such values also limits the dynamic feeling of the record, making it feel somewhat monotone at a point.

The riffs are quite solid, jagged and abrasive, although not particularly original. There are some fun and quirky elements attached some riffs, such as the trills found in some of the main riffs on opener "Necrothrash" and the following track "Submit to Undeath." On the latter track, the trill is obvious but not very clear due to the aforementioned lack of polish on the sound of the record, which could perhaps be an area for future improvement. I most enjoyed the slower moments, which often feature the most hard-hitting riffs. The noticeable tempo changes on a few tracks also generates some exciting moments. Highlight tracks worth a few replays for me were "Necrothrash," "Vengeful Attack," and the closer, "Black Goat of Hades," all tracks which feature the band's most stylish and dynamic features performed at a high level.

This is a solid start for Apocalyptic Annihilation. Perhaps on the next record they can explore more studio work options to find ways to bring out certain standout qualities more, as they have the writing and playing chops to create those. In addition, it would be great to see the band taking bigger risks in the songwriting department. However, what we have here is a very solid debut from a promising new act in Apocalyptic Annihilation. If you are a fan of blackened thrash metal, do give Necrothrash a listen.