Album Reviews : Necrophobic – Death To All

I’m sure you have already guessed from the band name and album title that this band certainly isn’t trying to bring anything revolutionary to the altar. What we do have though, is a blackened death metal album that hits all the right spots. So don’t be completely turned off by track titles like “Celebration of the Goat” or “Death To All”, the writing here is much more mature than their image portrays.

It is however just as sinister as the titles suggest. Tobias Sidegård’s vocals loiter nicely between raspy black metal shrieks and death metal growls, resulting in a sound that’s actually much darker than you’ll often find at either extreme. And there are also a few haunting chants thrown in for good measure. The blistering pace that takes up the majority of the album heightens the aggression even more, with the occasional melodic breaks only making what follows sound even harsher. The overall sound however doesn’t help. It’s produced well enough that it loses that menacing, rough edge found on many black metal releases; however it also doesn’t have that punch found on higher quality albums. It sits somewhere in between and while it doesn’t detract from the music too much, it would benefit them to choose a direction.

There isn’t a huge amount of variety here however each song manages to be just as memorable as the next. There are no big choruses or fancy solos to mesmerize you but you’ll find a catchy guitar melody or pounding drum part in each song, as well various small vocal sections which will get your blood pumping. “Revelation 666” is bound to have you playing some form of air instrument by the end of your first listen. With a nice balance of early Dissection, Slayer, and a myriad of death metal influences, the faster segments never become repetitive and while the drumming isn’t complex or extremely tight, it’s well written and really drives the music along.

While Necrophobic aren’t exactly going to stand out amongst their musical brethren with “Death To All”, it doesn’t sound like they are trying to either. Instead, they’ve focused on creating an album full of great, well-written tracks that are consistently enjoyable without straying too far from home. 7.4/10

Band: Necrophobic
Album: Death To All
Year: 2009
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Regain Records
Origin: Sweden
myspace.com/necrophobic

Track listing:
1. Celebration of the Goat
2. Revelation 666 <- Reviewers choice
3. La Santisima Muerte
4. For Those Who Stayed Satanic
5. Temple of Damnation
6. The Tower
7. Wings of Death
8. Death To All