Necrophobic releasing new album (stream a song)

by Doug Moore

The long-running Swedish death/black metal band Necrophobic are in a pickle. They’ve got a really good new album, Womb of Lilithu, coming out at the end of the month, but its release has been almost completely overshadowed by scandal. Their longtime vocalist, Tobias Sidegård, was recently jailed for spousal abuse, forcing the band to punt him from the lineup and frantically distance themselves from their former friend just weeks before the album’s release. Ouch.

It’s a shame, because Womb of Lilithu rips — it’s a Watain killer. We’ve got a new song, “The Necromancer,” streaming over at Invisible Oranges. From Ian Chainey’s writeup:

Necrophobic, one of the earliest entanglers of death and black metal, will celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2014. Unlike some of their peers, these Swedes don’t wear the weight of the years. Gallops aren’t reined in due to achy limbs, rolling blasts haven’t slackened, and growls and croaks aren’t cloaked with a honey-coated cautiousness….

And that’s what makes “The Necromancer” pleasantly impressive; old tummies aren’t meant to grumble with insatiable pangs for the next level. This, however, glurps for it. By nicking Unleashed‘s knack for anthems, Necrophobic have infused their recently-developed bombastic side with a kind of innately Scandinavian heroism. It turns what could be boilerplate natterings about goats, or the devil, or whatever, into a black metal action flick. Once the bar room full of Valhalla’s finest joins the fight to turn your face into a grimace, you’re genetically predisposed as a metalhead to bang along. It’s crazy over-the-top. So much so, it’s hard to come to terms with the fact it’s courtesy of Satanic minions about to go silver.”

You can read the whole writeup over at IO. Womb of Lilithu hits the streets via Season of Mist. Stream “The Necromancer” below.

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