'The Third Antichrist' is, surprise surprise, Necrophobic's third full length album. Swedish quartet formed in 1989, which explains the sounds heard on this album. This is pure Swedish old school death fucking infernal metal! Fucking the trends during all these years, Necrophobic do what their hearts speak.

Necrophobic have mastered the skills of their trade, since otherwise it's impossible to comprehend why 'The Third...' sound so fresh in this day and age (keeping in mind this was released over five years ago). Necrophobic sound serious, they don't fuck around. Swedish death metal, in my opinion, stands for riffs and leads. Every bloody song on this one has excellent riffing, be it heavy wall of noise or fast picking, and leads are fantastic. Another Swedish trademark is melancholic feel at times, even though it's all death metal as hell. Necrophobic do not try to break any speed records, even though this is fast for a big part. Depending on lyrical theme of a song, Necrophobic have created an album full of variety. Every song sounds different yet they couldn't be anywhere else but on this album. This alone is a huge attainment. 'Rise of the Infernal' is classic/sound effect intro and feel a bit out of place on this album, while 'One Last Step...' is serene viking-esque instrumental (okay, a few lines of text in it).

Lyrics are satanic, of course, but not solely so. Norse mythology plays a big part, too. In general, it's all for the fall of organized religions, especially the one that has plagued our northern lands: Christianity. While these lyrical themes have been used more than a lot, there's enough of spite in them and what is equally important, they are well written, even though the lyrics are a secondary matter. 'The Third of Arrivals' is Necrophobic's 'Soulless' (from Grave, one of my eternally favourite SDM songs)! Vocals sound possessed with variety of growls, from demonvoice to bear voice if you catch my drift (plus a few spoken lines). And they are fully comprehensible, which make them more effective.

Musicianship is another secondary matter. Guys handle this stuff well and it is enough, since they sound tight unit. No place for individual skill performing here. Guitars are great; very heavy, sharp or more transparent on leads, different effects are used to give different touches, some eerie acoutics and one thing I must not forgot: guitars shriek, too. Guitar solos are either well built or chaotic burts, depending of feel of a song. Bass is partly clean, but when aiming for the rawest effect, distortion is utilized. Drumming is solid, nothing "drum clinic" stuff. The production is basically flawless, but what else would you expect from Tomas Skogberg and Joakim Pettersson at Sunlight Studios? Overally, the sound is quite warm when compared to, say Dissection's 'Storm of the Light's Bane' (1995). Don't be put off by lame cover art (guys grimacing in flames of hell), since it is the music that matters. B/w booklet art is hilarious; badly drawn demons "treating" nun and vice versa, heh.

I would grant 'The Thrid Antichrist' a classic mark if it was more original in general. Now it is "only" a bloody awesome take on Swedish old school death metal. Fuck, this is a minor classic. Don't be a necrophobic, grab this and feel the flames!

Rating: 8½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/30/2003 12:11