NECRO FACILITY THE BLACK PAINTINGS ALBUM PROGESS PRODUCTIONS RELEASE: APRIL 6, 2005 REVIEW: MARCH 29, 2005

”Innovate, don’t imitate” was a common slogan on MTV during the nineties, if my memory still serves me. This idea is not embraced by Swedish newcomers Necro Facility, whose debut album “The Black Paintings” is a spitting image of the Vancouver industrial sound of Skinny Puppy and early Front Line Assembly. Especially singer Henrik Bäckström has a really severe Nivek Ogre complex, to the point that it’s almost silly.
However, Necro Facility do it with skill and with musicality, and there are worse acts to steal from. I mean, they could be jumping on the banal dist-EBM bandwagon like everyone else.
The biggest difference from Skinny is the (somewhat) more straightforward beats and bass lines, but other than that, we're talking about extreme similarity. The music lacks that certain something though, that sense of melody that Key and Goettel always managed to cram out amongst the noise. Necro Facility instead focuses on the overall soundscape, creating a suitably intense atmosphere without ever reaching the dizzy heights of their forebears.
If Necro Facility had shown more of a musical identity, I would have given a higher grade. Because these guys really know how to push the right knobs.

JOHAN CARLSSON