LIK | Necro | Metal Blade Records

 

 LIK, formed in Stockholm in 2014, is one of the most consistent modern Swedish death metal bands to embrace the original sound of the early '90s without slipping into parody. Featuring members with ties to bands like Bloodbath, Katatonia, and Carnal Forge, LIK has steadily released albums that prioritize raw energy, dense riffing, and gruesome atmosphere. Their previous albums, "Mass Funeral Evocation" (2015), "Carnage" (2018), and "Misanthropic Breed" (2020), established them as devoted followers of the HM-2-drenched traditions birthed by legends like Entombed, Dismember, and Grave.

With "Necro," LIK delivers their fourth full-length in a manner that sticks loyally to the unyielding skeleton of old-school Stockholm death metal. This is an album that bleeds familiarity in the best way possible—it never attempts to stray far from its foundations, nor does it care to. From the opening surge of "Deceased" through to the final burn of "Rotten Inferno," the album marches forward like a rotting juggernaut built on dense riff patterns, low-end churn, and reverb-soaked snarls.

The production is thick and cavernous, packed with that clear-cut HM-2 guitar tone. Drums thunder and crack without sounding overly modern or detached, maintaining a gritty integrity that helps everything sit together in the same sonic grave. The vocals are buried just enough in the mix to echo the old tapes of Nihilist while still being discernible in their grotesque delivery.

Songs like "Worms Inside" and "Morgue Rat" bring slower, stomping rhythms that emphasize rot and decay rather than speed. On the other side, tracks such as "Shred Into Pieces" and "The Stockholm Massacre" go straight for violent speed, invoking the frenetic power of Dismember's early material. There’s no sudden stylistic shift, no left-field influence—just a continuous and deliberate hammering of the same nail.

The horror-themed lyrics and song titles align perfectly with the grotesque, apocalyptic artwork by Jens Olsson, further grounding "Necro" as a love letter to the traditions it is born from. Its appeal lies not in novelty but in devotion to a genre's decayed roots, which it faithfully digs up and animates without injecting anything synthetic.

"Necro" doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: a blast of pure death metal made by veterans who understand the value of restraint, simplicity, and consistency. It sticks to the shadows it came from and doesn’t try to step into any spotlight. This is for those who want a pure and undiluted shot of putrid Swedish death.

Score: 8.5