UMUR
"The Third Antichrist" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Swedish black/death metal act Necrophobic. The album was released through Black Mark Production in October 1999. The lineup that recorded "Darkside (1997)" are intact, which means that the lineup still consist of Tobias Sidegård (Vocals, Bass), Joakim Sterner (Drums), Sebastian Ramstedt (Guitars), Martin Halfdan (Guitars).
Compared to how different sounding "The Nocturnal Silence (1993)" and "Darkside (1997)" were from each other, there isn´t as much difference in sound between "Darkside (1997)" and "The Third Antichrist". The latter mentioned pretty much continue the melodic black/death metal style of it´s predecessor, even though it doesn´t lean as much towards black metal as "Darkside (1997)" does. We´re dealing with something that could essentianlly be called both melodic blackened death metal and melodic black/death metal. The sound production, which is darker and more brutal than the case was on "Darkside (1997)", has much to do with the fact that "The Third Antichrist" leans more towards death metal than it´s predecessor, but the vocals are also more growling and less high pitched and hysterical than the case was on the predecessor.
At this point it´s obvious that Necrophobic have found their sound and "The Third Antichrist" therefore isn´t as surprising as the two predecessors were. It´s still a high quality melodic black/death metal album, packed in a powerful and raw sound production and delivered/played by skilled musicians. Some of the lead guitar work on the album are absolutely brilliant in my book and drummer Joakim Sterner should also be mentioned for his contributions to the sound. He is the kind of drummer that effectively drives the music forward without playing too many flashy things. Lead vocalist/bassist Tobias Sidegård also deserves a mention for his caustic raspy delivery of the blasphemous lyrics. The tracks are all well written and generally memorable, but I´d like to mention "The Throne of Souls Possessed" as one of the highlights of the album to me. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.