By Greg Pratt

Montreal-based black/death metallers NECRONOMICON are back at it, new disc The Return Of The Witch solidifying, once and for all, the band’s solidity in the Canuck metal scene. I mean, they are Canada’s BEHEMOTH, there’s no way around it. But despite their third album being a completely enjoyable affair, the band is an underdog in the Canadian scene. At least I feel that way, but band mainman/vocalist/guitarist Rob “The Witch” Tremblay isn’t so sure.

“Yeah, maybe we are but maybe we’re not,” he says. “I mean, there are always people that are there trying to stop you. So, underdog, maybe, because you always need one somewhere to fill that space, but maybe we’re not because we’ve been around for 20-something years and I’ve seen a lot of bands start and die. We’re still here and I can assure you that a lot more bands will die and we will still be standing. So if we’re the underdogs, well, at least we’re something.”

The disc ends a long wait for fans—it’s been seven years since their last, The Sacred Medicines. The problems started with the band’s now-ex-bassist, who had to leave the band due to a tendonitis problem; they got a session player for a while, then got their current bassist, who isn’t from Canada, which was a whole other set of delays.

“A bunch of personal problems happened too,” says Tremblay, “pretty much everyone became single after being on the road for a while (laughs). Typical. And, of course, my car accident that really stopped everything for many months. I couldn’t play guitar and sing properly for a long time, and at that time we were in the studio. So I think you can see the big picture, and I won’t mention the problems in the studio. After that, of course, there was the worldwide economic situation, which didn’t help for dealing with labels. So all that gives you a little idea of what happened. But we’re still really alive. Trust me.”

Tremblay admits that he’s never happy with his albums but so far The Return Of The Witch is the disc in Necronomicon’s catalogue that he’s the most comfortable with. He says it’s “the most Necronomicon album ever,” and is happy to report that in some regards the band has gone back to where they started with the album, which is their first for Napalm Records.

“We’re back to our roots, so of course it feels more right than ever. We’re in the same direction that we’ve always been, but stronger. I never felt so good on stage and the songs are so much more the way I feel; it’s simply amazing. I know that our new album, if properly pushed and promoted and if we can be on some real good tours to support it, things will change a lot for the good. In any case, we’re doing better than ever.”

It’s no surprise to hear so much positive talk out of Tremblay. After all, not only has the guy just released the best album of his band’s career, but he’s a firm believer in positive thinking. When asked what separates his band from so many other black/death troupes, he says it’s because of this trait.

“We like to talk about positive things and how people can change their life and get better and happy,” says Tremblay, suddenly not at all sounding like a guy who sometimes likes to apply and wear corpsepaint. “I could spend time blasting on the church but there are more than enough people doing that already and it’s really not me doing that. I like saying things that can make people think about becoming something more than they might have imagined. Maybe that’s why we are different.”