Nowadays, it seems like more than ever, musical ties have become tighter than regional ones.

Wherever they are, whatever their preferred sound is, musicians of a common breed always seem to find each another in the interest of making art that transcends international borders.

The song "Ravenouz Ritual," by South Korean thrash metal band Necramyth, is a prime example of how kickass music-making knows no bounds.

"Ravenouz Ritual" comes from Necramyth 's final album, 2009's brilliantly-titled "Slaughter of the Seoul." A look at the cheeky image on the YouTube clip for the song will offer our first clue that this not a band of chest-beating nationalists.

It's the image of the Korean flag, with one jarring difference: one of the trigrams has been replaced with a maple leaf.

The band has said this is a nod to drummer David Gold, known pseudonymously as Veillko. Gold, who passed away in 2011, was living in Korea in 2007 when he joined up with Necramyth to record "Slaughter." Gold was a veteran of the Canadian metal community, appearing on albums by Woods of Ypres and the Northern Ontario Black Metal Preservation Society.

This sort of cross-continent creative connection overwhelms any sense of regional unity. Instead, "Ravenouz Ritual" is offered up as a classic slice of melodic death metal, delivered with aplomb and aggression.

The guitars and vocals come courtesy of Urlock, the band's only consistent member.

Urlock covers the entire spectrum of death metal's usual suspects, summoning lower-register growls as well as seething screeches. Vocally, he turns in a particularly impressive moment of throat-shredding shortly after the two-minute mark, accompanied by a grinding blast beat.

Throughout "Ravenouz Ritual," the band is never anything short of fully melodic, and the music is recorded with a utilitarian neatness. There are no aspirations towards arty pretension or lo-fi claims of authenticity.

To add to the group's boundary-breaking sound, it seems difficult to put one's finger on where this band might be coming from, literally.

Influences from Swedish groups are evident, and not only in the album's title, a clever riff on the At the Gates track "Slaughter of the Soul." But this music could've just as easily emerged from the United States or elsewhere.

Regional loyalty seems besides the point.

Simply put, "Ravenouz Ritual"  presents Necramyth as celebrators of the genre, not seeking to reinvent the wheel, but rather to take their turn with it, and to do it well. The song is strictly id-satisfying riffs, powerful drumming and unrelenting aggression--as it should be with a metal band!

After "Slaughter of the Seoul," Necramyth splintered after longtime bandleader Urlock unexpectedly quit.

His next move? He moved to Spain, adopted the "nom du rock" of Pedro Chae, and started a new band called Embloodyment.

Nationality is a state of mind.

Listen to Necramyth's scoarching 2009 Track "Ravenouz Ritual" RIGHT HERE

Jeff Tobias is a composer, musician and writer currently living in Brooklyn, New York. As of late, he has been working on a string quartet and trying to keep his room slightly warmer than the temperature outside.