NECROPHOBIC

In the year 1989 a monster was born. Drummer Joakim Sterner and the sadly late David "Blackmoon" Parland, who also co-founded DARK FUNERAL, had the vision for a new band: NECROPHOBIC. Stockholm was experiencing a violent outbreak of creativity at that time. GRAVE started this deadly trend in 1986, DISMEMBER had started out in 1988 and UNLEASHED also began in 1989. The Stockholm school of Death Metal took the world by storm. Yet, NECROPHOBIC were a step ahead in searching for a more sinister sound and occult topic, taking inspiration from those Swedish giants BATHORY. The second wave of Black Metal cast its mighty shadow ahead as embodied by the inception of MARDUK in 1991, for example. At first the band went through a number of line-up changes, which stabilised with bass player and future vocalist Tobias Sidegård joining in. After producing the "Realm of Terror" (1989), "Slow Asphyxiation" (1990) and "Unholy Prophecies" (1991) demos, NECROPHOBIC had their first official release with the EP "The Call" (1993), which immediately left a strong impression in the underground Metal scene. In the same year their debut full-length "The Nocturnal Silence" (1993) hit the world. Together with DISSECTION (which were also founded in 1989) and their first album "The Somberlain" (1993), NECROPHOBIC shaped another genuine Swedish Metal sound, which audibly combined elements of Death and Black Metal and is currently seeing in parts a strong revival by bands like WATAIN. NECROPHOBIC continued to evolve along this path with further line-up changes and a string of excellent releases, winning high accolades from critics and fans alike. The "Spawned By Evil" EP (1996) came as a prelude to second album "Darkside" (1997), which featured a guest appearance of the late Jon Nödtveidt from DISSECTION. From "The Third Antichrist" (1999) via “Bloodhymns” (2002), “Hrimthursum” (2006) to "Death to All" (2009), NECROPHOBIC continued to steadily grow their support and reputation as one of Sweden's supreme bands in their dark genre. Lead by founding member Joakim Sterner, the group is getting ready for their next big step. NECROPHOBIC's "Womb of Lilithu" easily stands out as their strongest so far. Combining their crushing trademark guitar riffing with the masterful vitriolic vocals of Tobias Sidegård and a surprisingly modern production that gives this album heavy volume and a cutting edge, "Womb of Lilithu" is a strong reminder that NECROPHOBIC are still far from ready to abdicate from the Swedish Black Death throne for any young pretender. All hail to the kings of Swedish darkness!