Naevus Back Home Review
Naevus
Back Home
Dying Victims Productions
2025
Tackling this one feels timely, as the world is still reeling and rightfully grieving the loss of John “Ozzy” Osbourne. The legacy he left with Black Sabbath alone cannot be overstated. They birthed countless bands, CREATED heavy metal as we know it, and continue to inspire men, women, and children everywhere to pick up guitars, basses, and drumsticks and worship at the altar of the riff. German troops of doom Naevus are no exception, as we dive into their third full-length, Back Home.
Formed in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany in 1991 (originally as a death metal trio), Naevus endured lineup shifts and stylistic detours before arriving at 1995’s demo The Autumn Sun. That release showed them kneeling before doom’s Big Four - Sabbath, Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram, while sprinkling in a dose of The Obsessed. In 1997 they inked a deal with Lee Dorrian’s Rise Above Records, leading to the release of Sun Meditation in March 1998, recorded at Berlin’s Vielklang Studio (home to The Obsessed’s debut and Saint Vitus’ V). A split 7” and a Trouble cover followed before the band called it quits in 1999. After a long slumber, Naevus reemerged in 2012 with their second full-length Heavy Burden. In 2023, the sessions for Back Home began.
Back Home delivers nine tracks steeped in grief and loss but balanced by themes of love and hope. Uwe Groebel’s vocals, equal parts Eric Wagner and Wino, carry the material with a soaring, mournful power. The title track kicks things off with beastly riffs, memorable melodies, and choruses that stick like glue. Tempos stay mid-pace, never dragging into drone territory, and the twin-guitar interplay between Groebel and Oliver Grosshans nails the harmony-laden attack we expect from this school of doom. Sven Heimerdinger’s basslines prove to be a secret melodic weapon, while drummer Mathias Straub locks everything down with tasteful swing and groove.
“The Dead Don’t Sleep” follows with Obsessed-style guitar histrionics and another massive chorus. “My Fire” and “Under a Different Sky” carry the momentum before “Ghost” delivers a heartfelt lament that flirts with balladry before exploding into a crushing midsection. “Angels Never Come” slows the pace but stacks riffs sky-high. “Master of Shiver” stands out: it opens with Sven’s bass carrying the theme before shifting into a Down-esque groove with Hammond organ accents. The song bends toward something almost celebratory, not “happy,” but undeniably hopeful. Closer “Free the Ravens Fly” caps things with harmonized guitars, gut-punch riffs, and woeful yet commanding vocals.
Naevus aren’t reinventing the doom wheel, but they’re steering it with purpose and carving out their own space. Blessedly, they avoid the genre’s modern trappings, no endless fuzz wall, no cavernous, soupy production. The misery is there but sharpened with clarity and conviction. Give Naevus a serious listen, they’re dealing in GREAT epicus doomicus metallicus.
FFO: Black Sabbath, Trouble, The Obsessed, High on Fire
~TB