UMUR "Dawn of the Damned" is the 9th full-length studio album by Swedish melodic black metal/blackened death metal act Necrophobic. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2020. It´s the successor to "Mark Of The Necrogram" from 2018 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Alex Friberg has been replaced by Allan Lundholm.

Stylistically "Dawn of the Damned" is unmistakably the sound of Necrophobic and a natural continuation of the preceding releases by the band. The listener is treated to melodic blackened death metal, which sometimes is more black than death, and sometimes visa versa. Lead vocalist Anders Strokirk has a raw blackened snarling type delivery, which is intelligible and powerful. The instrumental part of the music is of high class. The rhythm section is solid and energetic, and the two guitarists deliver sharp melodic tremolo riffs, blistering melodic solos, and when the songs call for it, heavy mid-paced death metal riffing too. Some of the riffs are highly impressive and quite intricate. Listen to the main riff of the title track and tell me if that´s not brilliance incarnate...

...other highlights include "Darkness Be My Guide" and the two closing tracks "The Return of a Long Lost Soul" and "Devil's Spawn Attack". The latter is a speed metal influenced melodic death metal track with Destruction vocalist Schmier guesting on additional vocals.

"Dawn of the Damned" features a raw and powerful sound production, which suits the material well. There is generally a good balance between rawness and detail, which is important for this type of music, with two guitarists delivering harmonies, solos, and intricate riffs. Necrophobic have never released a bad quality album, but not all their releases are equally memorable. "Dawn of the Damned" is definitely in the better end of their discography and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Nightfly Now nine studio albums into their career, which started with the highly regarded The Nocturnal Silence in 1993, Necrophobic have been releasing quality blackened death metal with only the occasional slip. The swingometer between black and death metal varies slightly and these days they seem to have settled on a blackened melodic death metal style which I felt reached a zenith on 2018’s Mark of The Necrogram. Two years later we now have Dawn Of The Damned and it’s almost the same line-up as last time with only a change in bass players, Allan Lundholm replacing Alex Friberg. That’s some going in Necrophobic world as they’ve had quite a few changes of personnel over the years. This stability may explain why Dawn Of The Damned is similar in feel and execution to its predecessor, not only musically but the largely red cover even having a similar look. On Dawn Of The Damned though they may have just exceeded the excellence of Mark Of The Necrogram slightly and produced the finest album of their career.

The short opening instrumental Aphelion sets the mood up nicely before things kick off proper with Darkness Be My Guide and we’re immediately into familiar territory of flailing blast beats and tremolo picked guitar riffs. It’s catchy as hell and a strong way to get things going. Without going into each song the quality continues throughout. There may not be a lot of variation – most of the songs power along at a similar high speed but the energy, melody and strength of the riffs win over and stop lethargy settling in. Two of the songs break the seven minute barrier, The Infernal Depths Of Eternity and The Return Of A Long Lost Soul. Both are highpoints, particularly the latter of the two which actually slows things down, to begin with at least, but ends with all guns blazing on a compelling instrumental outro with excellent guitar solos. Of course the standard of musicianship is high as expected and vocalist Anders Strokirk’s blackened rasp is on top form. This all helped by a sympathetic and powerful production.

There will always be those I’m sure that cite their debut or perhaps The Third Antichrist as the bands high point, both excellent albums for sure, but for me it’s their later years where Necrophobic have really hit their stride. Dawn Of The Damned is essential listening for anyone who’s ever liked this excellent band and sure to be in my top ten at the end of the year.

UMUR "Mark Of The Necrogram" is the 8th full-length studio album by Swedish melodic black metal/blackened death metal act Necrophobic. The album was released through Century Media Records in February 2018. It´s the successor to "Womb of Lilithu" from 2013, and as the case also was between the release of "Death to All (2009)" and "Womb of Lilithu (2013)", there have been quite a few lineup changes between the release of "Womb of Lilithu (2013)" and "Mark Of The Necrogram". Guitarists Sebastian Ramstedt and Johan Bergebäck, who left before the recording sessions for "Womb of Lilithu (2013)", have now returned and have replaced Fredrik Folkare and Tobias Sidegård. Sidegård also performed lead vocals on "Womb of Lilithu (2013)", and his lead vocalist spot is taken by Anders Strokirk on "Mark Of The Necrogram". The only two remaining members from the last album are drummer Joakim Sterner and bassist Alex Friberg.

Despite the many lineup shuffles in the band´s history, they have remained surprisingly consistent in sound and in the quality of their output. This is a band with a signature sound and they stick to it. Sure they´ve evolved slightly over the years, and their albums don´t sound exactly the same (although there are many similar features on all releases), but there is a strong musical vision which Necrophobic have remained true to throughout their career. Occult/anti-Christian themed melodic death/black metal. Contemporary artists like Dissection and Unanimated are valid references. So it´s especially the vocals which are a blackened snarl, while the instrumental part of the music is closer to melodic death metal (of the darker and most raw kind).

"Mark Of The Necrogram" pretty much continues down the same path Necrophobic have travelled for many years, and there aren´t any surprises to be found on the album. The material is well written melodic blackened death metal and you can pick any track from the album and call it a quality track in the style. Like most Necrophobic albums, "Mark Of The Necrogram" become a bit of a one-dimensional listen only a couple of tracks into the album though, which isn´t a major issue, but it´s still an issue that the band aren´t able to vary their songwriting and sound more than they do. The whole album more or less passes by without any particular standout moments to hold on to and mention afterwards. So consistency can both be a strength and a weakness, and if you crave album variation it´s definitely a weakness in this case.

"Mark Of The Necrogram" features a professional and well sounding production, which suits the material perfectly, and the musicianship is also on a high level on all posts, so upon conclusion it´s another quality melodic blackended death metal release by Necrophobic. The above mentioned lack of variation brings my rating down a little, but it´s still a strong release in the genre and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Nightfly Necrophobic have been releasing quality extreme metal albums since their 1993 debut The Nocturnal Silence, a highly regarded by many, old school death metal release. They shortly afterwards adopted a more blackened death metal sound which is pretty much where they have remained since. All of their albums have been at least good, if not essential listening, though I must admit to my recollection with some mid period releases vague.

It’s been five years since Womb Of Lilithu and Mark Of The Necrogram sees the band remaining faithful to their blackened death metal sound which means no surprises I guess but it’s still a quality release. The sound is nearer to 2009’s Death To All than WOL which is not surprising when you know that it marks the return of guitarists Sebastian Ramstedt and Johan Bergebäck who last played on that record. It also sees the return of original vocalist Anders Strokirk.

The first thing that hit me with the opening title track, apart from the crystal clear production, is they appear to have upped the melody quotient and as the album progresses it proves to be the case. There’s no shortage of catchy riffs, which I must admit to a large extent didn’t hit me straight away but once they did I was hooked. It doesn’t get any better than Odium Caecum which after a moody guitar arpeggio intro kicks in full throttle, more death than black until the chorus and is one of the heaviest songs too. There’s no shortage of great songs though played with strong musicianship. Ever present drummer Joakim Sterner throws in the expected array of blast beats and double kicks with expert precision and the guitar work is impressive with some melodic solo work too.

I’ll stick my neck out here and say that Mark Of The Necrogram may just be the bands best and most consistent album in their career. It’s also their best sounding too. I’ve never felt the need to own all Necrophobic’s albums, having cherry picked their back catalogue but this ones a keeper for sure.

UMUR "Death to All" is the 6th full-length studio album by Swedish melodic black/death metal act Necrophobic. The album was released through Regain Records in May 2009. Necrophobic are one of the seminal early nineties Swedish blackened death metal acts along with acts like Dissection, Marduk, and Unanimated. Band´s in that grey area between black and death metal. While there are usually a couple of years or more between their album releases, they´ve kept themselves pretty busy over the years and have gained a small yet loyal cult following in the process.

The music on the album is melodic blackened death metal with blasphemous/occult lyrics, which is apparent from songtitles like "Revelation 666", "For Those Who Stayed Satanic", and "Celebration of the Goat". As such that´s nothing new when we´re dealing with Necrophobic. The music is well written as always though, the sound production raw and powerful, and the musicianship of a high standard, so even though Necrophobic bring little new to the table, compared to their previous output, "Death to All" is another quality release by the band. The tracks are predominantly furiously fast-paced and energetic, but the band do take the pace down on occasion, like they do on the epic and anthemic "For Those Who Stayed Satanic". Not for the full duration of the track though as this particular track also explodes in fast-paced blasting in the middle section of the track. The vocals on the album are snarling growls. Tobias Sidegård has a very aggressive delivery and compared to his vocals on "Hrimthursum (2006)", which to my ears sounded a bit strained, his performance here is strong and commanding.

They really understand how to deliver caustic hateful aggression to the listener yet never at the expence of catchiness or melody. And there are plenty of melodic guitar themes on the album, which by now is a trademark of Necrophobic´s dark and epic sound. The music also features occasional atmosphere enhancing keyboards, which provide some sections with an additional epic touch. So "Death to All" delivers just what fans of the band expect and new listeners can also start here and have a good idea of what Necrophobic are about. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.