Necrophobic – Mark of the Necrogram (Review)

This is the eighth album from this veteran Swedish black/death metal band.

Mark of the Necrogram features 49 minutes of occult, Satanic might. It’s also a very, very enjoyable listen.

Brutally aggressive, but with blackened atmosphere, this is a collection of songs that carve a path through both death and black metal territories. Although aspects of the band’s sound can be described as a merging of the two, there’s a decent chunk of material on this album where the band prefer one style or the other as their main mode of attack.

As such, whether you classify this as a black or a death metal release is largely down to personal choice. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter too much, as it’s actually both, but we love to classify, eh?

With a melodic appeal that ensures that Mark of the Necrogram is a surprisingly addictive and catchy listen, the level of memorable songwriting that’s gone into this album is impressive. The band’s melodically brutal approach is effortlessly enjoyable and highly effective.

The songs are all well-written and delivered, and the album is a very satisfying slab of melodic darkness. Full of sharp riffs that claw into your brain, it’s the combination of these and the blackened melodies that really do the damage.

The production values are high, but without sacrificing a certain underground aesthetic appeal. Overall this really is a first-rate piece of work.