Necrophobic // In The Twilight Grey // Album Review

Wow, I did not realise that Necrophobic has been going quite this long! Having begun in 1989 and then releasing the debut album The Nocturnal Silence in 1993 – they are not a band that is always in your face with new music. Taking time out to withdraw to the shadows now and then, but now is the time for their 10^th album to be set free.

The follow-up to the 2020 album Dawn of the Damned allows for some of the frustration around the Covid pandemic and how that interfered with the album cycle to be unleashed and has been at full force for the previous full length, there is a lot to be expected from this, plus I reviewed that album and it got 8/10 so it’s going to be good to see how things compare.

Opening up with ‘Grace of the Past’ the guitars begin in a semi-acoustic style before the drums erupt, the guitars screech and you are just hit with a wall of Black Metal as the vocal joins this cacophony of darkness. Within only a few minutes, you can feel that this is going to ooze Black Metal brilliance. As the riffs wander, the drums are beaten and the droning strings provide that hypnotic sound – you are just taken straight off.

As ‘Clavis Inferni’ explodes down the speakers this utterly brilliant example of Black Metal continues to bow your mind as it darkens everything including your soul. The filthy guitars lick you up your cheek and the drool trickles down your ear canal to poison your brain.

By the time you reach ‘Stormcrow’ you will be immersed in the murky sound that Necrophobic have been at the forefront of for longer than some people who may read this have been alive. The fact that you will also be joining the band when the title word is sung is a testament to how catchy the track is.

The album as a whole is a fantastic example of how engaging Black Metal can be and how transfixed music can make you. Everything about the album is exactly how it should be and is setting the standard for bands making music that fall into this special category.

So, is this progression from Dawn of the Damned? Simply put, yes. That frustration has been perfectly placed and sounds fantastic – trust me, give this a listen.

In The Twilight Grey will be released on 15^th March 2024 via Century Media.

Review: Ed Ford