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.