The generous and gregarious title chosen by Swedish death metal veterans
Necrophobic for their sixth album, 2009's
Death to All (think about it), testifies to the group's twenty-year devotion to the genre, through all of its historical ups and owns, stylistic offshoots, and lord knows how many defections to non-metallic pursuits by so many of the other bands from that "glorious" first generation. Not for
Necrophobic the lowly temptations of goth rock (hello,
Tiamat), rot & roll (
Entombed), or -- is nothing sacred? -- nu-metal (you know you did for a minute there,
In Flames); this band has rarely wavered from their original path, and before you go citing those peripheral black metal tendencies -- satanic lyrics, malicious melodic speed-runs -- keep in mind that the line between death and black was very blurry among the pioneering bands of two decades prior. And so,
Death to All quickly proves itself a worthy successor to
Necrophobic's triumphs past, marked by a slew of blastbeat driven onslaughts, as improbably musical and infectious as they are uncompromising of attack. Often more aggressive than other song-oriented death metal bands like Holland's
God Dethroned, yet likewise not as intricately busy as the modern black/death sect presided over by Poland's
Behemoth, outstanding
Necrophobic offerings like "Celebration of the Goat," "Temple of Damnation," and "Wings of Death" strike a near perfect balance between immediacy and extremism. The band can also switch from steadfast, ultra-thrash mutilation on the remarkably violent "La Santisima Muerte," to multi-tempo heavy/heavier dynamics on inventive slammers like "Revelation 666" and the three-part epic title track. All the while, the band's undiminished passion for their demonic art bursts forth like that of most satanic metal whippersnappers half their age, which should guarantee
Necrophobic's ability to keep bringing
Death to All ages of extreme metal fans for many years to come.