Chicago horror-death fiends NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS return with their most ferocious and unhinged release to date, the aptly titled Zombie Blood Nightmare. Out Now, this six-song EP is a whirlwind of 90s death metal stomp, 80s shred obsession, and tongue-in-cheek B-movie gore that cements the band’s identity as both serious riff-worshippers and gleeful purveyors of horror camp.
From the opening grind of “Left To Die,” listeners are thrown into a pit of decay and despair, guided by a colossal guest solo from none other than Jeff Young of MEGADETH. The song lurches like a doomed soul chained in a gore pit, every riff dripping with rot, until Young’s guitar screams carve through the gloom. Without pause, the band erupts into “No More Room In Hell,” a SUFFOCATION-inspired riff frenzy that pays homage to Dawn of the Dead. It’s a brutal sprint of tremolo riffs, spiraling solos, and lyrical nods to malls under siege and the endless march of the undead.
If excess is a virtue, “Chopped Up and Burned” is a cathedral. Seven minutes of gratuitous death-thrash chaos, the track features blistering guest solos from Matthew Mills and Jeff Young, and pays blood-soaked tribute to The Evil Dead. The band thrives in the chaos, with riffs piled high on top of each other until the track collapses under its own madness. By contrast, “Lumbering, Blood Sucking Freaks” staggers like its namesake: a mid-tempo, oozing collection of riffs that shouldn’t work together, yet somehow lock into an eerie, zombified groove.
The bloodthirst only intensifies with “Hungry For Brains,” a thrash assault structured around symmetrical diminished scales and spiked by a guest solo from James Norton, a personal connection from guitarist Michael Nystrom Bala’s college days. Lyrically blunt and musically savage, it’s a zombie anthem that gnashes at the listener until there’s nothing left but bone. The EP closes with “Démoni,” the most technically demanding of the set, inspired by the 1985 Italian horror film Demons. Featuring time-signature shifts, Suffocation-style brutality, and a grotesque slam section in 5/4, it’s also the only track without a Bala solo, but instead, Manuel Barbara takes command, shredding with reckless abandon as the song spirals into total madness.
Zombie Blood Nightmare is NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS at their most chaotic and gleefully grotesque, but also their most ambitious. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Charlie Waymire at Ultimate Studios, and mastered by Ernesto Homeyer, the EP boasts a sound as sharp and punishing as its subject matter. Genoicide Artworks provides the cover art, completing a package that is equal parts brutal, absurd, and lovingly steeped in the traditions of horror metal.
Over the past three years, the band has released a steady stream of EPs (Necronomicon Ex Mortis, Silver Bullet, The Mother of Death) and splits (You’ve Got Red On You with BLOODFEAST RITUAL), carving out a niche with their technical fury and horror-inspired narratives. They’ve drawn praise from No Clean Singing (“a band to watch”), Metal Noise (“there is so much depth and texture”), and Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life (“thrilling heaviness”), while even catching the attention of Christian Muenzner (ex-OBSCURA).
With Zombie Blood Nightmare, NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS deliver not just another step forward, but a gory leap through the gateway to hell. It’s a record that pays homage to their death metal forebears while shamelessly indulging in horror schlock and fretboard excess. It may open new doors, or as the band prefers to put it, “new gateways to hell.”
About NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS:
Formed in Chicago in 2023, NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS have quickly carved out their place in the metal underground with a sound that is equal parts 90s death metal stomp, 80s shred worship, and campy B-horror storytelling. Guitarist and songwriter Michael Nystrom Bala, guitarist and orchestrator Manuel Barbara, bassist Yusuf Rashid, drummer Joey Ferretti, and vocalist John Sawicki bring a mix of technical ferocity and tongue in cheek horror fun that is as brutal as it is entertaining.
Since their debut EPs Necronomicon Ex Mortis and Silver Bullet in 2023, the band has unleashed a steady stream of releases including You and Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over in 2024, The Mother of Death in 2024, and the split You’ve Got Red On Youwith BLOODFEAST RITUAL in 2025. Their relentless creativity culminated in the 2025 compilation From the Void…THEY CAME, which further established their reputation as prolific riff mongers with a love for the grotesque and absurd.
With recognition from outlets such as No Clean Singing, Metal Noise, and Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life, and praise from Christian Muenzner of OBSCURA, NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS are being hailed as a band to watch. Their music fuses thrashy death metal brutality with dizzying solos while embracing the bloody theatrics of cult cinema. Equal parts homage and parody, their songs invite listeners to bang their heads, laugh at the gore, and revel in the chaos.
At their core, NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS are here to shred, to bleed, and to drag metal deeper into the crypt, one zombie, demon, and undead riff at a time.
NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS is:
Michael Nystrom Bala — Guitars / Songwriting
Manuel Barbara — Guitars / Orchestration
Yusuf Rashid — Bass
Joey Ferretti — Drums
John Sawicki — Vocals
Connect with NECRONOMICON EX MORTIS:
Official Website: https://www.necronomiconexmortisband.com/
Bandcamp: https://necronomiconexmortis.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090172921055
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/necronomiconexmortisband/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@necronomiconexmortisofficial
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5mwhqFK69UHCSeS9YtzSer
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/necronomicon-ex-mortis/1671465776