Necronomicon

Long before opportunistic acts began flooding heavy metal with names drawn from a spurious grimoire of invented incantations rooted in H.P. Lovecraft, the German thrash outfit Necronomicon stood as the earliest claimant to that title. Formed in 1983, the band operated under the direction of vocalist and guitarist Volker "Freddie" Fredrich, the sole member to remain through every subsequent phase. Fredrich initially assembled Jürgen Weltin, bassist Lars Honeck, and drummer Axel Strickstrock, and together they produced the group's opening pair of releases: the self-titled 1986 debut, whose rear artwork curiously depicted four youths with punk-style Mohawks rather than typical metal hairstyles, followed by 1987's Apocalyptic Nightmare. Both records delivered a rudimentary strain of thrash that echoed earlier work by Destruction and Running Wild, an approach that already felt dated to all but the strictest purists by the late eighties. Although 1988's Escalation, captured without Honeck as a three-piece, revealed notable artistic progress, the group disbanded once their label collapsed shortly afterward. The three original members proved unable to remain inactive indefinitely, so in 1994 they enlisted bassist Bernhard Matt for a brief reunion that yielded the album Screams, an effort recognized solely by their most loyal followers. A decade later Fredrich and Strickstrock, joined by fresh personnel, attempted another revival, resulting in 2004's Construction of Evil and 2008's Revenge of the Beast, both of which refined the band's style by incorporating power-metal melodies.