The world of heavy psych is one that has been going for decades with the likes of Black Sabbath and Coven being real highlight influences for many bands in the genre. I’m usually more into the style when the psych part is what’s being heavily emphasized, but bands like The Necromancers still catch my eye if they do it well enough and just a minute into the sophomore effort from this French quartet can reveal the wild ride the whole of this album will take you on.

Just over a year since their debut, The Necromancers had a slight bit of hype to live up to as their debut was something that made a good deal of ruckus to where saying that “Of Blood and Wine” is a highly anticipated album wouldn’t be far off from the truth. Yet, the first spin of these six tracks that mix together proto-doom with heavy psych and even a little bit of dabbling in progressive rock missed the mark just a little that then prompted a second immediate listen which was a great move on my part. The Necromancers isn’t an act that I would say never pulls a punch, but they know exactly when to jab and precisely where hold back before a well-timed vicious right hook to the jaw. “Of Blood and Wine” takes us on an absolute rollercoaster of heavy rock as all six tracks power through like one bulldozer at a time with each bringing something new to the table that keeps the entirety of this record so very interesting from start to finish. Be it a long fest of riffs like “Erzebeth”, a more pulled back song like the title track, or the very definition of a rollercoaster like “Secular Lord”, “Of Blood and Wine” has a little bit of it all and The Necromancers pulls it off gloriously.

Heavy psych has been something that I love to come back to every now and then because it’s almost always a safe area for quality especially when it’s being dished out by the likes of Ripple Music. For any fan of the style be you new or old, The Necromancers does an impeccable job with “Of Blood and Wine” that is all but an absolute joy.

“Of Blood and Wine” releases on October 5th via Ripple Music!

LISTEN to The Necromancers’ debut album on Bandcamp here.

LIKE The Necromancers on Facebook here.