Swedish death metal band Those Who Bring The Torture have been very active since 2007: They released their debut the year they formed, and today they have 8 full-length platters and two EP's out. It is no wonder, though, as it is that beast of death metal burden Rogga "Got me a hundred death metal bands" Johansson.

The cover artwork, which owes a great deal to H.R. Giger's visions, is fitting. See, this time around Those Who Bring The Torture sound a bit different compared to their previous material, which was more grinding and gory. So, what's in store, then?

My bet is that that Mr. Johansson was going for Hypocrisy's 'The Fourth Dimension'! This has such similar production values and vibes to that 1994 album, that it simply cannot randomly happen in 2020s. But that's not the sole older Swedish thing that this album goes for. And let me tell you, it is a nice piece of digging a bit of the past. There is no information who plays on the album, but that is indifferent, really.

The pulsating bass together with gruff guitar tone create a big, chopping malleus rifforum. It also gets churning. The lead guitars offer some variety, from melancholic melodiousness to finger-tapped craze. It can be aggressive, gloomy or both at the same time, but of course plain evil, too. Generally this is about death metal, but some groovier vibes do occur at times, and the title track's goth "piano" was a total surprise, as well as its second part's non-distorted guitar. It's like channeling mid-90's Cemetary or Tiamat (also happens on fantastically-titled 'Atlantic Interceptor'). The atmospheres fluctuate nicely and make the album flow. The drumming is rather straight; from rock beats to double kick drumming, but the kick drums hammer the nails in. Plainly effective.

The vocals are low-throat barking, that often hit higher notes with lacerating screaming. I think it tried to emulate Peter Tägtgren, at least to some extent, even though not sounding similar; but, still powerful and inhuman enough. The short lyrics circle around evil, be it human, nature or some indescribable monstrosity.

The sound is thick, but part of that is due to somewhat homely production. It's quite bloody blunt and dry, and I wouldn't have minded if there was more echoing, which could have given the music loads of majestic or otherworldly atmosphere. Like it actually happens on some lead guitar bits; more of this, please! Also, the drums almost sound machiney.

'Necromancer' is a worthwhile album for those who enjoy certain mid-1990's sound and ethics. It's like a time machine, basically, and I am not complaining about that because we all know what pitfalls modern production jobs can carry. It may not have been perfect back in the day, production-wise, but damn, this makes me nostalgic! Mainly the song material is good and quite varying, and 35 minutes is not too much of it. It's not of 'The Fourth Dimension' standards, but still very much worthy piece of that kind of death metal.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/04/2022 08:45