Genre: Death Metal
Year: 1993
Sweden has been one of main exporters of metal in the past 20 years. The country is home to bands such as Edge of Sanity, Crypt Of Kerberos, Runemagick, Nihilist, Dismember, God Macabre, Unleashed, Liers in Wait, Morbid, Grave, Merciless, Carnage, Moondark, Entombed, Therion, Candlemass, Grosteque, Amon Amarth, Dissection, Marduk, Abruptum, Bathory, F.K.Ü., Yngwie J. Malmsteen, and that's just to name a FEW. But who is Sweden's best band? My answer would be Stockholm's NECROPHOBIC! Necrophobic formed in 1989 and prior to the release of their legendary "The Nocturnal Silence" album, they already had a cult following with their demos and as well as their 1992 EP "The Call." In March of 1993, Necrophobic entered Sunlight Studios to record "The Nocturnal Silence." An album I would consider the best album to emerge from Sweden if not the best album to emerge from Scandinavia! "The Nocturnal Silence" was soon released in August later that year.
The Nocturnal Silence is an evil death metal album with hints of black metal. Although not enough to call it "blackened death metal." The album opens up with the appropriately titled "Awakening...", a perfect way to kick off an album. Starting off with a keyboard intro and then goes into full blown death metal from Hell. The title track alone makes this one of the best albums in the history of metal. It opens up with an eerie clean guitar and soon builds up. Growing heavier and faster with each riff. The haunting atmosphere is overwhelming. Anders Strokirk's vocals on this album are shouts of pure evil! David Parland's guitar playing on this album makes it one of the best guitar albums ever. His brutal riffs and melodic solo's are nothing short of brilliant. This is everything an extreme metal fan could want! The highlights on this album are: "Awakening...", "Before the Dawn", "The Nocturnal Silence, "The Ancients Gate", "Sacrificial Rites", and "Where Sinners Burn."
In closing, "The Nocturnal Silence" is a masterpiece. A true gem of the early 90's Swedish death metal scene. Sadly, it appears this album is out of print and obtaining a copy will not be cheap. But if you can find it, do not hesitate to buy it. You won't regret it.
Overall Rating: 10+/10
2 comments:
Never heard this album. I gotta check it out!
This is the third best metal album to have emerged from Sweden.
Number One is "Storm of the Light's Bane" by Dissection.
Number Two is Dismember's "Like an Everflowing Stream".
It is actually very hard to find these days and very expensive, but worth EVERY PENNY.
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