Bloodhymns

Necrophobic, the experts of painstakingly constructed black metal with an extra evil aura, released "Bloodhymns" in 2002. The band seemed to be in a very good condition. Equipped with an unholy rage, the four-piece forged an album that does not need a warm-up period. Instead, all churches go up in flames as soon as the first tones of the opener fill the room. Of course, not in reality. Let me remind you that Necrophobic originate from Sweden, not from Norway. Fine difference! But the houses of God start to burn in a figurative sense and the musicians, as much as I regret it, do not know where the extinguishers are. And even if they knew it - they would not use them.

Malicious riffs, flattening leads, sadistic vocals and high velocity drumming create very malevolent scenarios. Blood-soaked melodies justify the title of the album. Necrophobic prove one more time that they are able to establish a viable connection between the most furious parts which drag the listener down to hell and extremely dark harmonies that deliver a profound blackness. These two main components mutually influence each other in order to result in pretty perfect songs. Neither the rapid eruptions nor the majestic, more melodic sequences appear as a value in itself. Each part is aligned with further sections of the entire song and the smooth breaks and tempo changes never hurt the flow of the material. Even short acoustic breaks or screaming solo guitars submit themselves to the overarching goal, the creation of dense, perfectly flowing and monolithic compositions. Additionally, it goes without saying that the professionalism of Necrophobic does not allow a weak production. The voice and the guitars stand in the foreground without taking the rhythm section the air to breathe.

The first half of the album discards all scruples. Each and every band member has made a contribution to the song-writing and the manual know-how is out of question. Songs like the straight opener or the slightly more complex "Mourningsoul" want to engulf the listener in a maelstrom of vehemence and viciousness, while the majestic leads of "Shadowseeds" highlight other aspects. The unswerving double bass rolls out the red carpet for the accusing guitars and the lead vocals prefer a demonic approach instead of the usual mix of aggression and insanity. Unfortunately, Necrophobic are not able to keep the quality level of the first five, six songs. No need to panic, they do not make experiments. The interesting song formula remains the same, but the riffs are a tad less stunning. "Cult of Blood", for example, does not lack of anger and lustful destruction, nevertheless, it fails to stick in my mind. Good, but not outstanding - this decribes the last tunes in a fitting manner. Anyway, passion and musicality are the main pillars of this full-length which always finds its way back from the shelf into the CD player. Listen to the hymns and enjoy.