Necrophobic
The Nocturnal Silence
Black Mark, 1993

One of the more underrated Swedish Death Metal acts, Necrophobic made their presence on the scene a year or two late, as by 1993 the genre had begun to decline in terms of underground popularity and worthwhile recordings. The band's debut, The Nocturnal Silence, proved to be, at the time, a decent, if not spectacular, recording of traditional Swedish Death, and was maybe a bit overlooked in light of the genre's waning popularity amongst the underground faithful. It was not until a few year's after its release, when death metal began something of a comeback, that this album started to receive recognition by critics and fans alike, some even claiming it a cult classic, and others hailing it as one of the best Swedish Death Metal albums of the early 90's. While I would not go that far, I would say that The Nocturnal Silence is one of the best examples of the region's signature sound.

All of the premier elements that defined the original Death Metal movement in Sweden are on display on this album. The Studio Sunlight production by Tomas Skogsberg, the dark atmosphere, melodic guitar melodies, rock-structured songwriting, the balance between mid-paced grooves and high-speed thrashing etc... it's all here. Although it doesn't come anywhere near the pioneers of this scene in terms of overall conviction and execution, it contains a similar aura as early Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed, that dark groove running through every song that was one of the primary differences between European and American Death Metal. The songs are straightforward and delivered with a simplicity both in the rhythm and riff departments, yet Necrophobic make up for their lack of technicality with a strong sense of dark melody and mood. In fact, there is a definite aura of blackness throughout the album that makes The Nocturnal Silence an album that could be appreciated by both Death and Black audiences, not to mention the anti-Christianity that make up the lyrical themes, adolescent though they may be.

Guitarist/keyboardist David Parland, who was responsible for the majority of the writing on this album, would leave afterwards to become known as Blackmoon in Dark Funeral, leaving the band to search for a replacement and never quite living up to this promising debut. Although nothing original or innovative, Necrophobic are a band that belong in the collection of anyone who worshiped at the alter of early 90's Swedish Death Metal.

2001

Tracklisting

1. Awakening...
2. Before The Dawn
3. Unholy Prophecies
4. The Nocturnal Silence
5. Shadows Of The Moon
6. The Ancients Gate
7. Sacrificial Rites
8. Father Of Creation
9. Where Sinners Burn

Necrophobic Homepage

Necrophobic Discography

The Call EP (Wild Rags, 1992)
The Nocturnal Silence (Black Mark Productions, 1993)
Spawned By Evil (Black Mark, 1996)
Darkside (Black Mark, 1997)
The Third Antichrist (Black Mark, 1999)
Bloodhymns (Hammerheart, 2002)
Tour EP 2003 (Hammerheart, 2003) *sampler limited to 1,000 copies