Necrophobic - In the Twilight Grey (Death Metal)

The self-appointed gatekeepers of the Necrophobic legacy are back once again, this time to further desecrate the band's already questionable post-Parland output with their latest sonic catastrophe, In the Twilight Grey. After hearing the early 90s Tampa death metal riffs awkwardly colliding with what can only be described as a Zelda level theme in the middle section of lead single "Clavis Inferni," I was reassured that there would be nothing remotely esoteric or threatening about this release. Behind the endless cacophony of clicking noises masquerading as drums and guitars that sound like a tinny ceiling fan gasping for life, lies Anders Strokirk's agonizing attempt to deliver vocals that seem more akin to passing a kidney stone than to anything resembling actual singing. This is not the Necrophobic of David Parland's day — this is nu-Necrophobic, a watered-down glam metal facsimile more concerned with posting backstage party photos than actually making music worth hearing.

While previous releases from this nu-Necrophobic (specifically Mark of the Necrogram and Dawn of the Damned) were vapid commercial products thinly veiled as death metal, at least they had the competence to blend in with Century Media's current roster of death metal-lite acts like Cannibal Corpse or Behemoth. But with In the Twilight Grey, it's hard to even discern what the band was trying to achieve — other than, perhaps, a cheap cash grab. Even The Nocturnal Silence, as much as I've criticized it, didn't sink to these depths. In the Twilight Grey offers pseudo-death metal of the most tedious and discordant variety, resembling a slapdash Incantation tribute act, but with none of the grit or atmosphere. The bulk of the album is an uninspired collection of mechanical, foot-tapping rhythm riffs garnished with death metal clichés, particularly the obligatory minor chords and those tired, ringing arpeggios that everyone associates with the genre these days. Song arrangements are a mess, a chaotic jumble of random riffs thrown together with no regard for flow or cohesion. It's as if no one even attempted to make these songs work.

This album is profoundly one-dimensional. If you've heard the singles "Clavis Inferni" and "Shadows of the Brightest Night," congratulations — you've heard the entirety of In the Twilight Grey. The rest of the album consists of aimless detours, with tedious fast/slow transitions that bounce from plodding, pseudo-death metal to uninspired blackened blasts, all culminating in random, unsatisfying conclusions. Necrophobic clearly has no clue where to take any of their ideas, so they settle for recycling basic, rudimentary extreme metal riffs, slapping on a surface-level coat of "weirdness" by using that same minor chord/arpeggio trick at the end of nearly every riff. They clearly hoped listeners would mistake this for innovation.

Lyrically, the album doesn't fare any better. What we have here are lyrics so utterly devoid of imagination that they make early Khranial records seem like high literature in comparison. Instead of delving into anything remotely esoteric, the album's themes read more like low-effort Twilight movie memes, pandering to the lowest common denominator with easy-to-digest imagery. Apparently, that's where the money is these days.

So, do yourself a favor — skip this vapid excuse for an album and go listen to real death metal instead. Revisit the classics: Onward to Golgotha by Incantation, Effigy of the Forgotten by Suffocation, Rotting Tomb Carnage by Morbid, or To the Depths in Degradation by Infester. These records showcase what death metal is supposed to be — raw, brutal, and uncompromising. Spending money on In the Twilight Grey will only encourage this nu-Necrophobic entity to continue diluting their music until even the new guy can afford his fishnet mesh shirts, spandex, and trendy beard-styling sessions (just check out their promo pics). Avoid this vapid trash at all costs.

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