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Necrophobic have been around for something like 20 years now, digging into the main vein of Swedish Death Metal and mining out a half-dozen albums, but they have never really hit it big, remaining also-rans on the extreme metal landscape. Band members have cycled regularly, with only drummer Joakim Sterner remaining from the original 1989 lineup, the other members have drifted in here and there, comprising veterans of such better-known Swedish bands as Exhumed, Dismember, Nifelheim, and even Therion.

With that kind of pedigree, you'd expect this to be good, and it is. Necrophobic surprise by not being as fast and blasty as I was expecting. They have a definite style, with a much more melodic guitar attack than I anticipated, though still remaining miles away from a Gothenburg sound. If you are expecting something simplistically imitative of Entombed or Dismember, or something more like Belphegor, then you will be missing the mark. Some of the guitar work here is quite good, with some haunting melodies to go along with the heavy attack. The guitar sound itself is a bit on the weak side, as I like something with more bite, but the mix gives more play to the lead sound and the midrange than the low end. The drums also get more depth rather than just clickety-clickety, though the sound could use more punch.

Overall I find this a solidly enjoyable DM album with some moments that leap above the standard, but it is not really extraordinary. Fans of the style who like a bit more melody in their works will like this very much, but it's not a masterpiece or anything.