Hailing from a country most people would not necessarily associate with extreme Metal, Costa Rica’s NECROFERUM are now presenting us with an EP, which is their first official release. The band only started in 2023; all four members, however, were active in other Costa Rican bands before, mostly from the spectrum of Death Metal. “Visions From The Necrorealm” shows this experience through a very facetious sound. The opener and title track starts with a long, doomy intro, the atmosphere of which continues throughout the song. ‘Transcending From Spectral Fumes’, the second track, also has a rather slow, dark beginning, followed by very fast guitars and blastbeat drumming in the main part. Another feature of the second and also the third song, ‘Profound Illusions Of A Pathological Subconscious’, are dark instrumental interludes which add more details and tension to the music. Apart from this passage, ‘Profound Illusions…’ is more straightforward and faster than the first two songs. The last track, ‘Malignant Echoes Of Non-existence’, slows down a bit, again making room for a darker vibe. As a general impression, “Visions From The Necrorealm” displays highly skilled musicianship, especially the drumming and guitars. A feature that could be considered a weakness of an otherwise great record, however, are the vocals, which appear to have been mixed into the background. Perhaps “Visions From The Necrorealm” would have profited from a more prominent vocal sound. That said, NECROFERUM are still delivering the goods as they have done their homework in the field of classics and also go beyond paying homage to Death Metal heroes. Although the EP uses more effects and is more clearly produced, AUTOPSY’s “Severed Survival” is shining through, as is BOLT THROWER’s “War Master” in the slowly grinding passages. The same goes for MORBID ANGEL, for example “Gateways To Annihilation”. Certainly no bad references here; NECROFERUM have the potential to become a force to be reckoned with amongst the ambitious youngsters of Death Metal. Check them out! www.facebook.com/necroferum, www.facebook.com/martyrdoomproductions