Review by Felix on November 6, 2019.

I guess we all know that some statements are simply true. Sweden is a fascinating country. Loudmouth Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored the goal of the century against England. In sharp contrast to their compatriots of In Flames, Necrophobic have never released a bad album.

The Third Antichrist is made for those who enjoy mature death / black metal. Necrophobic's trademark, the combination of profound musicality and sinister brutality, builds the fundament of all songs. From my point of view, the black metal elements prevail. Or to express it differently, typical death metal modules are conspicuous by their absence. Tobias Sidegård does not growl in the most incomprehensible way and the guitars are not focused on the deepest tones. Of course, this does not mean that Sidegård sounds like a prima donna. His vigorous voice delivers an admirable dose of vileness. Additionally, the guitars also do not lack of penetrating power. The organic, powerful mix presents the guitars almost optimally. Sharpness and vehemence are well balanced. In a nutshell, the sound has everything that it needs to draw the black metal hordes on its side. The Third Antichrist provides a sinister and dense experience without presenting overly insane sequences. Death / black metal lunatics from South American should take this work with a grain of salt.

But even if one does not originate from Colombia or Brazil, the output does not border on perfection. It holds good songs without exception, but I miss two or three absolute highlights. There can be no doubt that the mid-paced "Into Armageddon" scores with its flattening guitar work. It is also out of question that "Eye of the Storm" grows malignantly. Its high-speed parts, the rather steadfast verses and the dark melodies of the chorus form a strong unit. "The Unhallowed" is a rapid eruption which sends its deadly arrows from the gateways to hell. Indeed, these three examples may give you an idea that Necrophobic do not disappoint the supporters of the very dark arts. Yet the last iota of brilliance is missing. Anyway, The Third Antichrist works as a whole and you will not be tempted to press the skip button. The album has more substance than its good yet slightly skinny predecessor and its omnipresent atmosphere of unholy darkness is probably its greatest advantage.

In view of the homogeneous song material, one cannot say that the album is filled to the brim with surprising twists and turns. Yet each and every song holds an adequate number of breaks and tempo changes. The musicians are definitely not interested in primitiveness and any form of sloppiness. Instead, they have a knack for the right mix of fairly melodic sections and misanthropic outbursts. This cocktail tastes well and its aroma holds on until some very rapid guitars shape the beginning of "Demonic", the last regular songs. This tune summarizes the strengths of the band for the final time. A worthy ending, if we forget the overlong outro for a moment. So, let's come to the end. All in all, this album is free from major flaws and Necrophobic's potential can only be denied by ignorant fools (aka diehard In Flames fans). Nevertheless, model students are condemned to deliver outstanding results. I definitely recommend this album, but it is rather (very) strong than absolutely outstanding, at least in comparison with Zlatan's goal against England.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 6, 2019.

I guess we all know that some statements are simply true. Sweden is a fascinating country. Loudmouth Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored the goal of the century against England. In sharp contrast to their compatriots of In Flames, Necrophobic have never released a bad album.

The Third Antichrist is made for those who enjoy mature death / black metal. Necrophobic's trademark, the combination of profound musicality and sinister brutality, builds the fundament of all songs. From my point of view, the black metal elements prevail. Or to express it differently, typical death metal modules are conspicuous by their absence. Tobias Sidegård does not growl in the most incomprehensible way and the guitars are not focused on the deepest tones. Of course, this does not mean that Sidegård sounds like a prima donna. His vigorous voice delivers an admirable dose of vileness. Additionally, the guitars also do not lack of penetrating power. The organic, powerful mix presents the guitars almost optimally. Sharpness and vehemence are well balanced. In a nutshell, the sound has everything that it needs to draw the black metal hordes on its side. The Third Antichrist provides a sinister and dense experience without presenting overly insane sequences. Death / black metal lunatics from South American should take this work with a grain of salt.

But even if one does not originate from Colombia or Brazil, the output does not border on perfection. It holds good songs without exception, but I miss two or three absolute highlights. There can be no doubt that the mid-paced "Into Armageddon" scores with its flattening guitar work. It is also out of question that "Eye of the Storm" grows malignantly. Its high-speed parts, the rather steadfast verses and the dark melodies of the chorus form a strong unit. "The Unhallowed" is a rapid eruption which sends its deadly arrows from the gateways to hell. Indeed, these three examples may give you an idea that Necrophobic do not disappoint the supporters of the very dark arts. Yet the last iota of brilliance is missing. Anyway, The Third Antichrist works as a whole and you will not be tempted to press the skip button. The album has more substance than its good yet slightly skinny predecessor and its omnipresent atmosphere of unholy darkness is probably its greatest advantage.

In view of the homogeneous song material, one cannot say that the album is filled to the brim with surprising twists and turns. Yet each and every song holds an adequate number of breaks and tempo changes. The musicians are definitely not interested in primitiveness and any form of sloppiness. Instead, they have a knack for the right mix of fairly melodic sections and misanthropic outbursts. This cocktail tastes well and its aroma holds on until some very rapid guitars shape the beginning of "Demonic", the last regular songs. This tune summarizes the strengths of the band for the final time. A worthy ending, if we forget the overlong outro for a moment. So, let's come to the end. All in all, this album is free from major flaws and Necrophobic's potential can only be denied by ignorant fools (aka diehard In Flames fans). Nevertheless, model students are condemned to deliver outstanding results. I definitely recommend this album, but it is rather (very) strong than absolutely outstanding, at least in comparison with Zlatan's goal against England.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 10, 2019.

The Antichrist, oh no, not again. He is a well-known fellow for each and every fan of extreme metal. Back in 1985, he appeared on Destruction's "Infernal Overkill". Bewitched witnessed his rise in 2002. In 2012 Kreator thought he is just a phantom, but I guess we can be sure that he dwells everywhere, even in Finland and probably in close neighborhood to Santa Claus, who lives, as even all little children know, in Rovaniemi, Lapland. So, it was no big surprise that he made a courtesy call on Diaboli, a one-man-project from Suomi. Therefore, the artist behind this project called the album The Antichrist and everybody was satisfied.

Everybody? Yes, more or less everybody, because the album keeps the promise that it names makes. I freely admit that the technical execution leaves plenty of room for optimization, because its dull overall impression and the lack of differentiation cannot be ignored, especially during the fast parts. (Needless to say, that Petri was also responsible for the recording. Guess his circle of friends consists of his mother... and nobody else.) "Grim Winter" is the victim that suffers most from the mix. In general, seven of eight tracks are not able to reveal their full might and the remaining title is an atmospheric, pretty strong and somehow Nordic keyboard intermezzo which seems to be recorded in a frosty Polar night. Nevertheless, the vinyl does not disappoint. Petri, the artist who runs Diaboli, has enough creative potential to make a convincing offer. He does not show new options for the genre, but he operates skillfully within the given frame.

Once influenced by Burzum, Diaboli present a more brutal approach now. A minimum of riffs goes hand in hand with a minimum of breaks. Petri's guitar dominates everything, and he is obviously able to feed his instrument with effective notes. Nobody can deny that the guitar lines are aligned with the typical spirit of the genre. "Cursed be thy Name", the overlong opener, has both pretty monotonous, fast parts and melancholic excursions and maybe some very wise people might say that it is more than sufficient to listen to this track in order to be familiar with the entire spectrum of the project. But I don't want to be blamed by these omniscient creatures for not telling them the whole truth about the fifth full-length in the discography of the lonesome warrior. The massive tremolo picking forms great tracks like "Malicious Satanic Vengeance" or "A Sign for War" and I highly recommend giving them a try. Petri does not hesitate to plough the frozen Finnish soil and he does it with a fine instinct for flattening guitars and well-dosed dynamism, even though he does not create new genre highlights.

Slayer fell in love with the Antichrist in 1983, Gorgoroth kissed his pale face in 1996. "Sinful Birth", a great thrash album from 2017, was released by a band that wears proudly his name. You see, he is present at any time. Maybe he is even responsible for the smell of your running shoes or the unattractive spots in my underpants. It doesn't matter, because one thing is certain: he did not have a bad day when it came to the realization of the here reviewed work.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10