_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: 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'. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2024 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :