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Album Review – Lik / Necro (2025)

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The modern-day purveyors of classic Swedish Death Metal strike again with their fourth studio album, the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror movie drenched in blood and gore.

Considered by many as the modern-day purveyors of classic Swedish Death Metal, Stockholm’s own unrelenting beast Lik (which means “corpse” or “corpses” in Swedish) gloriously returns to action with their fourth studio album, simply titled Necro. Recorded at NBS Studio (aka Necromorbus Studio), produced by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound Studios, and displaying a zombified cover art by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson of Ink Fanatics, Necro is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror movie that’s drenched in blood and gore and packed with over-the-top extremities masterfully crafted by Tomas Åkvik on vocals and guitar, Niklas “Nille” Sandin also on the guitar, Joakim Antman on bass, and Chris Barkensjö on drums, standing loud and proud over so many imitators.

The dirty riffs by Tomas and Niklas will kick you in the nuts in the opener Deceased, with the band distilling their undisputed Death Metal with tons of rage and insanity, followed by War Praise, a ruthless sonic attack where the visceral growls by Tomas walk hand in hand with the pulverizing beats by Chris in a lecture in Swedish Death Metal. They is another beast of a song showcasing a dual guitar attack boosted by the rumbling bass by Joakim, and it’s pedal to the metal with the unrelenting extravaganza Worms Inside, with Chris taking the lead with his demented beats and fills for our total delight. Then the bass lines by Joakim will smash your cranial skull in Morgue Rat, offering more of the band’s trademark violence, gore and obscurity.

In Shred into Pieces the name of the song says it all, as you’ll be pulverized into micro pieces to their venomous slab of Death Metal bringing forward the fuming riffs by Tomas and Niklas, and Tomas keeps vociferating rabidly in In Ruins, a horror movie-like tune where the entire band shows no mercy for our putrid souls. Inspired by a trial that led to a series of executions in Stockholm between November 7 and 9, 1520, after the coronation of Christian II as the new king of Sweden, The Stockholm Massacre beautifully depicts that savagery in the name of old school Death Metal; and there’s still time for more heaviness and aggression in Fields of Death, where their core Death Metal is boosted by Chris’ demented drumming. Last but not least, the guitars by Tomas and Niklas transpire savagery in Rotten Inferno, putting a gruesome, evil conclusion to such an incendiary album.

Continuing to fly the Swedish Death Metal flag across the global stage, Necro was born out of pure love and respect for the genre and its creators’ artistic visions to keep pushing their own musical boundaries. “The ambition with Necro was to make an even better record than the previous albums,” says Tomas. “I think this one is really tied together. As it started growing and the songs got put together we were 100% focused on making that Lik album. I really think we made a really good death metal album, we found the right ingredients to make this one work.” Hence, you can experience all of their gore, violence and metallic sounds by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming their sick creations on Spotify, and of course by purchasing the fulminating Necro from BandCamp or from Metal Blade Records as a CD or as a violet with purple splatter vinyl 12″, or simply click HERE for all available options. The new blood-soaked opus by Lik will certainly inspire all Death Metal fans around the world to slam into the pit like true metalmaniacs, solidifying the band’s army of zombies on all four corners of the earth, and consequently, prepping our rotten and decaying world for more Lik in the coming years, even if we face its inevitable end sooner than later.

Best moments of the album: War Praise, Worms Inside and The Stockholm Massacre.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. Deceased 4:21
2. War Praise 3:40
3. They 4:02
4. Worms Inside 3:08
5. Morgue Rat 4:58
6. Shred into Pieces 2:18
7. In Ruins 4:40
8. The Stockholm Massacre 2:42
9. Fields of Death 4:02
10. Rotten Inferno 5:41

Band members
Tomas Åkvik – vocals, guitar
Niklas “Nille” Sandin – guitar
Joakim Antman – bass
Chris Barkensjö – drums, backing vocals

Album Review – Anticreation / From The Dust Of Embers (2022)

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Behold this 34-minute aural declaration of war toward the insignificance of all terrain things masterfully crafted by a dynamic duo from Greece.

Born in the beginning of 2021 in Athens, Greece with the intent of creating sprawling, otherworldly abstract Death Metal embraced with lyrics about chaos, death and nightmarish realms and states of consciousness, the ruthless Black/Death Metal duo Necro on guitars and vocals and Noctus on bass and vocals, collectively known as Anticreation, emerges from the abysses of hell with their colossal debut album From the Dust of Embers, a 34-minute aural declaration of war toward the insignificance of all terrain things. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Descent Studio, and with layout by Cold Poison an logo and inner parts by Nox Fragor Art, From The Dust Of Embers is an imposing beast levitating with an immense aura of complete ruin and inevitability highly recommended for fans of Pseudogod, Immolation, Dead Congregation and Lucifyre, showcasing all the fury of Necro and Noctus accompanied by guest musicians Krzysztof Klingbein on drums and Slanderer on ambient and noise tracks.

The sinister intro Faith’s Demystifcation welcomes the listener to the Stygian lair ruled by Anticreation before the duo comes crushing in the title-track From the Dust of Embers, a straight-to-the-point, no shenanigans Black Metal onrush where Krzysztof proves why he was chosen by Necro and Noctus to take care of the drumming duties, and with Necro being not only bestial on the guitar but his guttural vocals are also infernal. Then starting in a beyond phantasmagorical manner, the obscure The Beauty of Lava brings forward elements from Doom Metal and Blackened Doom to make things even more menacing, with Noctus hammering his bass mercilessly, and the duo continues to extract sheer malignancy from their stringed weapons in Abomination Reborn while Krzysztof dictates the pace with his pounding beats. Put differently, it’s sulfurous Black Metal at its finest spiced up by a humongous dosage of Death Metal roars, whereas The Last Perception sounds even more demented and vicious than its predecessors, resulting in a Black Metal extravaganza where Necro’s strident, devilish riffs will pierce your mind ruthlessly.

Krzysztof smashes his drums like a beast in A Journey Into the Throat of Death, giving it a tribalistic vibe while the guitars and bass sound as caustic as possible, flowing into the interlude The Swarm, which will send shivers down your spine thanks to all the eerie, otherworldly noises and sounds crafted by Anticreation until all hell breaks loose in Unborn, a brutal Black Metal aria where Necro and Noctus once again darken our minds with their riffs and bass lines, not to mention how inhumane Krzysztof sounds behind his drums. Kathagiasis, the last song from the regular version of the album, showcases wicked vociferations by Necro accompanied by the menacing bass by Noctus, whereas lastly we’re treated to more of their caustic fusion of Black and Death Metal that’s worth the investment in the digital version of the album with the bonus track The Supreme Terror, which as its name already says will terrorize you for all eternity.

There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for your damned soul, which means the only option left for you is to succumb to the dark side and join Anticreation on their devilish path, and you can do so by following the band on Facebook and by purchasing the amazing From The Dust Of Embers from the band’s own BandCamp page, as well as from the Sentient Ruin Laboratories’ BandCamp page or webstore, or from the Nuclear Winter Records’ BandCamp page. In the end, we’re all insignificant, and Anticreation are among us to show us this unwanted truth armed with From The Dust Of Embers, an album that will surely be considered one of the top metal albums hailing from Greece this year.

Best moments of the album: From the Dust of Embers, Abomination Reborn and Unborn.

Worst moments of the album: The Beauty of Lava.

Released in 2022 Sentient Ruin Laboratories/Nuclear Winter Records

Track listing
1. Faith’s Demystifcation 0:45
2. From the Dust of Embers 4:04
3. The Beauty of Lava 5:44
4. Abomination Reborn 4:48
5. The Last Perception 4:10
6. A Journey Into the Throat of Death 4:33
7. The Swarm 0:45
8. Unborn 4:26
9. Kathagiasis 4:37

Digital Edition bonus track
10. The Supreme Terror 3:16

Band members
Necro – guitars, vocals
Noctus – bass, vocals

Guest musicians
Krzysztof Klingbein – drums
Slanderer – ambient/noise tracks