Release Date July 24th, 2026
Format Limited Red Vinyl
Genre Grindcore, Deathgrind
Origin England
Lock Up formed in Birmingham in 1998 around bassist Shane Embury and drummer Nick Barker, with the early lineup completed by guitarist Jesse Pintado and vocalist Peter Tägtgren. The band emerged from the overlap between grindcore, death metal and thrash, assembled by musicians already active across the extreme metal underground. By the time “Necropolis Transparent” arrived in 2011, Tomas Lindberg (R.I.P.) handled vocals, Anton Reisenegger took the guitar position, and Embury and Barker remained the rhythmic core. This configuration defines the album’s character.
Tompa attacks every line with a scorched throat and clipped cadence, Reisenegger fills the songs with serrated riffing, Embury locks the low end beneath the guitar, and Barker floods the kit with blastbeats, sudden rolls and rapid shifts. Dissonance Productions brings the album back on limited red vinyl, preserving the original 17 song sequence and adding no bonus material. It is a straight repress aimed at restoring a physical edition that had become harder to obtain.
“Necropolis Transparent” is a merciless album with little interest in easing the listener into its pace. The songs are compact, feral and packed with death metal riffing, grindcore speed and traces of thrash in the picking patterns. The production leaves the drums dry and violent, the guitar coarse, the bass present beneath the attack, and the vocals high in the mix. It is raw, though each part remains distinct enough for the riffs and drum changes to register. The guitar tone has a rusted edge, and the snare and cymbals strike with dry, almost mechanical violence. Lindberg does not dominate through volume alone. His clipped delivery turns each line into another rhythmic blow.
The lyrics circle mutation, fear, spiritual decay, war and human collapse, matching the bleak titles without turning into vague horror decoration. Across 17 songs, Lock Up works through brief bursts and longer surges without reducing the album to one continuous blur. The pace is ruthless, though the riff changes, drum accents and vocal cadences create enough variation to stop the material becoming shapeless. There is no relief built into the running order, and that choice gives the album a severe character.
The repress offers no fresh content, so its appeal rests on the vinyl edition and the continued impact of the original material. Fifteen years later, the blend of grindcore speed, death metal riffing and thrash attack remains vicious, disciplined and immediate. “Necropolis Transparent” is a brutal release with precise playing, an unforgiving pace and enough riff detail beneath the blastbeats to reward repeated listens. It is not subtle, welcoming or spacious. It is a controlled assault built from speed, discipline and contempt, and this vinyl edition marks an appropriate return for an album this severe.
|8.5
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