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/:: Artist :: Necrophobic ::\
:: Album :: In the Twilight Grey ::
:: Year :: 2024 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Death Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Valhall Music R.date :: 2024-12-01 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: VLH081 S.date :: 2024-03-15 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 270kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 110.02MB .
. .
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Grace of the Past 5:01 ::
:: 2. Clavis Inferni 4:34 ::
:: 3. As Stars Collide 5:12 ::
:: 4. Stormcrow 4:26 ::
:: 5. Shadows of the Brightest Night 7:30 ::
:: 6. Mirrors of a Thousand Lakes 5:37 ::
:: 7. Cast in Stone 4:22 ::
:: 8. Nordanvind 6:40 ::
:: 9. In the Twilight Grey 7:54 ::
:: 10. Ascension (Episode Four) 2:42 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 53:58 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: The tenth full-length album by Swedish death/black metal ::
:: legends comes with a cover from a new artist and with it they ::
:: discontinued their interesting approach of visiting the Devil's ::
:: Church. This time the cover reminds me more of ôParadise Lostö ::
:: by the epic metal guys Cirith Ungol (no surprise with that ::
:: title) but does this mean that Necrophobic have changed their ::
:: style? ::
:: ::
:: Well, generally not. They still have this rousing, highly ::
:: catchy death/black metal mΘlange they did on their previous ::
:: albums (okay, let's just forget Womb Of Lilithu which was, ::
:: although not really bad, some kind of low light in their ::
:: discography) that is based on the guitar work and the ::
:: compositions by Sebastian Ramstedt who has become a real freak ::
:: when it comes to guitar play and everything around the ::
:: instrument. Anders StrokirksÆ┤ vocals sound as frosty, sinister ::
:: and powerful as ever but thereÆs also another little nuance to ::
:: his performance. ::
:: ::
:: In some songs like the opener 'Grace Of The Past' he sometimes ::
:: snorts out the words so that in my head manifests the picture ::
:: of a fire breathing demon. This creates a very dark and evil ::
:: atmosphere and is a stylistic device that works as great as ::
:: hell, so to speak. And coming back to the guitar work on In The ::
:: Twilight Grey, there is more classical heavy metal embedded ::
:: into the songs than ever before. Whoever knows the guys, won't ::
:: be too surprised because they have a huge penchant for classic ::
:: heavy metal stuff from the 80s and so this is a logical step to ::
:: incorporate some of these inspirations into their own music. ::
:: This makes the songs much more diverse in comparison to their ::
:: previous releases and with this they also offer a bigger target ::
:: to attack. ::
:: ::
:: I can also imagine that some die-hard, trve death-black metal ::
:: fans will have some issues with this more progressive ::
:: songwriting because of not being 100% death-black. But in some ::
:: moments there are also some more Bathory-like elements in so ::
:: that the songs get a more blackish touch and like Joakim ::
:: Sterner told me in the interview we did lately, with a track ::
:: like 'Ascension (Episode Four)' they also go back into their ::
:: past, namely to Darkside back from 1997. ::
:: ::
:: I guess, one should review each of the ten songs to describe ::
:: the album in full detail but this would burst the frame here, ::
:: so I'll mention just a few to put into words how diverse In The ::
:: Twilight Grey is. Let's start with 'As Stars Collide'. This is ::
:: one of the most melodic and epic tracks Necrophobic ever did. ::
:: The song is kept in a slow mid-tempo range with a repetitive ::
:: chorus and galloping pace and reminds me pretty much of the ::
:: Viking-era by the already mentioned Swedish black metal legend. ::
:: ::
:: 'Clavis Inferni' is a fast and furious death metal stomper with ::
:: some more punkish vibes in the drumming. The chorus again is ::
:: very catchy and stressed out by some fantastic and melodic ::
:: guitar leads. Also the breaks incorporated are very intelligent ::
:: and surprising. ::
:: ::
:: 'Shadows Of The Brightest Night' is one of my personal ::
:: highlights, especially because of these palm-muted picks in the ::
:: guitar play which is something they didn't use before. The song ::
:: creates a very dense and threatening atmosphere and works out ::
:: best in the dark (of course). ::
:: ::
:: And finally ôStromcrowö which was already released as first ::
:: single in 2023 already is a typical Necrophobic death-black ::
:: inferno again with a cool catchy chorus and an outstanding ::
:: bridge part which has become super epic. This one will probably ::
:: become a must-have when it comes to live shows. ::
:: ::
:: So you can probably read in my words that the album has become ::
:: a very interesting thing which wants to be discovered. In some ::
:: parts it might be a little bit tricky to get access to it but ::
:: like Joakim said, it's a 'grower'. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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