Out 20 March, 2026
Via: Awakening Records
With a raw rumbling bass intro, Papa Necrose return with their fourth full-length album Anthropomorphy Execution. Track one, Fall, Die and Break dives straight into the sound of old school death metal, groove-loaded riffs, with a fistful of bell accents quickly capturing my attention. Hailing out of Brazil, Papa Necrose have been honouring the sounds of legendary old school death metal bands since their formation in 2010.
The cover art of Anthropomorphy Execution was created by Nether Temple Design, and features a pope-style figure missing a lower jaw and complete with a catholic style mitre holding a burning candle. The art exhibits a tortured and nightmarish feeling which permeates through this release.
As I do with all my reviews, I spent some time on my favourite website: The Metal Archives. This figure, who I take to be Papa Necrose himself, features on the majority of the covers of their previously released works, a nice piece of thematic consistency which I appreciate greatly as an artist myself. Although not the subject of this review, I would be failing you, the dearest reader, if I didn’t mention the title of Papa Necrose’s previous record: The Infected Fucking Church. What a name.
The title track, Anthropomorphic Execution, features another bass intro, which leads to an important note for this release, being that the bass remains audible and clear in the mix, adding so effectively to the creation of the tortured atmosphere of the album. This is a primary component of the album to feel like the tortured soundtrack of the cover figure haunting empty crypt hallways and chambers by the flickering light of a single long candle.
Track five, Bleeding Social Membrane, is a personal standout song, with a catchy main riff spanning most of the track. The riff simplifies around the halfway point, leaving space for the bass which just powers along, accented by the ride bell, before diving into a guitar solo. This repeats again before the whole piece then changes into a big progressive section just after the 5-minute mark. This 7-minute long track concluded with a big finish and I immediately wanted to restart.
A key aspect of this release for me, apart from the riffs absolutely demanding my head to bang along, is the drums. The drums have a raw, real feeling production, moving between tasty skank beats, to blistering double kicks to just sitting back right onto the bell, something which in my opinion cannot be overdone.
The vocals are very inspired by Chuck Schuldiner and so are the more proggy and technical guitar passages, akin to the early 90’s Death albums. The Death reference for this release is apt, particularly notable in the track Cathedral of Death (purposeful influence recognition in the track name? I don’t know). Papa Necrose are by no means a clone band though, they have their own sound, crafting songs which feel modern and fresh but reminiscent of the pioneers of death metal.
I write my reviews on the fly, while listening to the album for the first time, and honestly the time just disappeared while listening to this record. The songs are not short, many reaching towards the 6-minute mark or beyond, but Papa Necrose completely kept my attention. Every song is well-crafted, progressing between sections while maintaining the listener’s interest. I found myself at the end of the final track, The Thousand Yard Gaze, while writing this section legitimately wanting more. It’s ok though, because I just listened to the whole release again.
There is not much more to be said about this release, I highly recommend checking out this album as soon as it drops. High praise to Papa Necrose, keeping the most legendary sound of old school and progressive death metal alive and angry in 2026.
Off for now to deep dive the past releases from Papa Necrose,
Metal Cult 666
