Band:	Necrophobic
Album:	The Nocturnal Silence
Style:	Melodic black metal, Melodic death metal
Release date:	1993
Guest review by:	F3ynman

01. Awakening...
02. Before The Dawn
03. Unholy Prophecies
04. The Nocturnal Silence
05. Inborn Evil
06. Shadows Of The Moon [2022 reissue bonus]
07. The Ancients Gate
08. Sacrificial Rites
09. Father Of Creation [feat. Micke Jansson]
10. Where Sinners Burn [feat. Rickard Daemon]

A sweet keyboard melody trickles in. A feeling of dread arises with every passing note as we are enveloped by the eerie atmosphere. A buzzing guitar riff crashes in, mimicking the soft melody. The tension culminates - and explodes with a howling scream as all the instruments are unleashed, filling the nocturnal silence with a flood of wicked musical perfection!

So begins the 1993 Swedish underground classic The Nocturnal Silence. The fittingly titled song "Awakening..." heralds not only the beginning of Necrophobic's epic debut, but generates an entirely new genre of music: melodic, blackened death metal!

Fellow Swedish metal masters Dissection are often credited with expertly fusing black and death metal in their seminal The Somberlain, which was also released in 1993. However, the beginnings of this genre date back to 1989, when Necrophobic released their first demos Realm of Terror ('89), Slow Asphyxiation ('90), and Unholy Prophecies ('91). This era was the golden age of old school death metal, seeing landmark releases from bands such as Morbid Angel, Death, and Entombed. While their contemporaries reveled in lyrical themes of gore, brutally heavy riffs, and growling vocals, Necrophobic turned to the growing black metal scene for inspiration. They thereby spearheaded a new movement in metal, combining black metal's chilling Scandinavian atmosphere and Satanic lyrics with the heavy, catchy guitar-riff-centered death metal style.

The result? Simply the founding masterpiece of melodic, blackened death metal that still amazes to this day! This majestic wonder can be attributed to two primary stars: David Parland and Anders Strokirk. Parland, who plays here both lead and rhythm guitar, is the founding member of Necrophobic and contributes the masterfully crafted foundation of this album. Writing and composing almost all of the blasphemous lyrics and guitar riffs, Parland shapes The Nocturnal Silence into a musical magnum opus of diabolical metal.

But the album wouldn't be the same without our second star: the vocalist Anders Strokirk. Up until this release, the ever-changing line-up of bassists performed the vocals in the demos, producing the popular old school death metal growls. But, with the arrival of Strokirk, the vocals took a different turn, adopting rather the sickened, strained style of black metal acts. These vocals fit perfectly to the haunting riffs and devilish lyrics, making Strokirk sound like a starved demon awakened from its slumber.

Together, along with the restless drummer and the talented bassist, they create an unforgettable experience of alternating menacing riffs, foreboding melodies, and elegant solos, recounting wicked tales of ancient demons and nighttime rituals.

The Nocturnal Silence is 45 minutes of non-stop, expertly designed, ultra-fast musicianship - a monument to metal! Every song is delivered with utter perfection, whether it's the unrelenting, thrashy energy of "Sacrificial Rites", the melodious guitar solo of the title track, the neck-snapping riffs of "Before The Dawn", the foreboding atmosphere of "Where Sinners Burn", the diverse assortment of guitar-work in "Inborn Evil", or the maliciously sung lyrics of "Father Of Creation". The two songs that perhaps best encapsulate all of these attributes are "Unholy Prophecies" and "The Ancients Gate", with their fair share of ruthless riffs and melodic guitar solos.

This album offers countless amazing riffs for the adrenaline-craving metalhead. Each and every one of them is absolutely magical, addicting, beautiful, brutal... I find myself running out of adjectives to properly describe this timeless artwork. Simply put, the guitar-work on this album makes my heart soar, my eyes pop, and my mouth gape upon every new listen as the divine aural ambrosia washes over me! An awe-inspiring adventure that I can never get enough of, deserving nothing less than a perfect score!