Review by Jeger on July 4, 2024.

Before its artists realized that common people are dazzled by the grandeur of symphonic metal, symphonic black metal was a much more down-to-earth form of BM. Borgir weren’t always creating music to soundtrack the conquering of interstellar space. Long ago, when the sub-genre was in its developmental phase, they were creating records like ‘95’s “For All Tid”that - much like “Nokturnal Mortum’s celebrated “Goat Horns” - are in fact symphonic black metal albums, but artful and grounded, unlike the abomination that the sub-genre has become. Septicflesh? Present day Borgir? Hard pass… 

“For All Tid” sounds like a real heartfelt black metal album that was created with fiery passion as opposed to the soulless “Death Cult Armageddon”. There are parts where the symphonic elements are stripped away completely; allowing for only the guitars and the drums to be appreciated. And even the symphonically overlain parts are done tastefully as if not to take too much away from the gorgeous black metal experience that lies just underneath. “Under korpens vinger” - man, Borgir had this whole BM thing down pact: the wretched vocals, the myriad of varying riffing patterns, the entrancing clean guitar arrangements and the just right atmosphere. Majestic, almost theatrical chanting vocals like some Sagelike enchanter crying out his spells in the night atop a snow capped bluff overlooking a Norse village, frigid winds, swords, horses, ale and that whole Braveheart vibe. Beautiful stuff. All the atmosphere black metal ever needed… 

The titular track creeps along in mellow hypnotic fashion - a subtle Mayhem - “Life Eternal” sort of whimsicality to this one where playful bass lines intertwine through captivating guitar parts and martial rhythms. Are we sure this is symphonic black metal? Feels atmospheric to me. Could pass for either and it comes down to the ethereal quality of the keyboards and the airy tonality of the guitars. It’s all so light and so crystalline as opposed to the bold grandiosity of typical, or should I say modern day symphonic BM where every album feels more like the soundtrack to some box office smash vampire flick as opposed to this - the quintessential, and most importantly, the true and classic symphonic black metal experience… 

There needs to be more of this action right now. These symphonic black metal bands are out of control. “My symphonic black metal band is more epic than yours!” It’s all so manufactured and devoid of anything artistically redeemable. Entertainment like a Michael Bay movie with lots of car crashes and helicopter explosions… But “For All Tid”? Quality black metal of the nostalgic variety - a brilliant balance of olde Norse swagger and elegant symphonic/atmospheric allure, without the Cenobite costumes… 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 4, 2024.

I confess: sometimes I hate Markus Staiger, the boss of Nuclear Blast, because he is giving a platform for a lot of commercial, soulless or pompous bands that have nothing to do with my understanding of metal. But I must also say that I admire his capability to see the potential of talented newcomers instinctively. From my point of view, "For all tid" does not show many signs which indicate the later development of Dimmu Borgir - and the same goes for "Stormblåst", at least to a certain extent. Anyway, the further career of the band is well known.

"For all tid" is stuffed with melancholic, woeful and rather slow-moving black metal. Fairly orchestral background choirs emphasize the sluggish appearance of songs. In rare cases, clear (guest) vocals want to add an heroic touch, for example during the third track. But this intention is doomed to failure, because the here presented whining sounds gruesome, completely dissonant and unbearable. Anyway, despite such flaws, Dimmu's debut cannot be blamed for being a totally lousy work. I admit that the band appears a little bit like the lame brothers of early Gehenna. The atmosphere of "First Spell" is almost omnipresent on "For all tid" and the dominant role of the keyboards does not make my heart beat faster. Nevertheless, Dimmu Borgir offer an authentic album and there is no doubting the sincerity and integrity of the band members, at least at this early stage of their career.

The songwriter have a fine instinct for effective melodies and this feature is an advantage of the album. In their best moments, the songs create an aura which matches the cover artwork. A soft wind of desperation blows through the speakers and the full-length mirrors the early spirit of the second wave of black metal, although it is "only" the rather melodic niche of this movement. Compositions like "Hunnerkongens sorgsvarte ferd over steppene" or "Raabjørn speiler draugheimens skodde" achieve a more than solid level. They are equipped with fairly sophisticated structures, do not lack of diversity and possess a certain currishness. But sadly, too many tracks are too harmless to leave an impact. As indicated above, the keyboards have too much room. For example, the restrained opener, which is free from electric guitars, does not kick off the album in a promising manner. The overall impression gets better as the guitars set in, nevertheless, raw and relentless attacks do not show up. Especially the title track fails to offer a suitable degree of heaviness and power. The same goes for the production. Neither the guitars nor the drums impress with a punchy sound.

After considering all the advantages and disadvantages, "For all tid" is a very mediocre work. The bonus songs "Inn i evighetens mørke (Part I and II)" are acceptable, but they cannot increase the quality level of the album in a significant manner. I still wonder how Staiger was able to identify the commercial potential of Dimmu Borgir.

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by Michael on June 1, 2001.

This is an interesting one. It came very early in their career, being Dimmu Borgir’s first full-length release. And to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what to make of it... but that may be just because this is the only album that is completely in their native tongue of Norweigen and I don’t understand a fucking word!!!!

One thing I definitely like is the intro-first track. It sounds like it has been done on a cheap Casio keyboard, but with the classic lightning effect to begin it, then the smooth go-to-sleep-my-little-baby type synth keys it is very effective and will suck you into a deep trance. I found myself again and again starring blankly into space and feeling very mellow indeed after this track. The spoken word is also effective, I think even more so because I have no idea what Shagrath is talking about and I find myself imagining my own meanings. Instantly you can tell this is a low-budget recording. The drums lack clarity and the guitars/bass lack bottom end and depth. All drums on this album were played by Shagrath himself so don’t expect the double-kick and drum fill prowess of Tjodalv. But in defence of Shagrath as a drummer, they are solid, simple beats that do work to create a good backbone for the rhythm section which, unfortunately sounds like the bass and the guitar(s) were played through a small transistor practice-amp which is only capable of mid-range fuzz with no bottom end to be found at all. The guitar lines themselves are ok... but there is certainly nothing that stood out to me. Only simple 4-bar, 4 Chord rock riffs played as fast as their hands would go, but as in most Black Metal the familiar guitar-following-synth is there which sweetens things somewhat. Stian did very well as these lines are very catchy and easy on the ears and go a long way to make up for the poor sounding rhythm section. Now we come to my major issue with this album... the vocals! The gutteral throat-scraping vocals well known to Dimmu Borgir fans are there (with maybe just a touch too much reverb at times) which is great, but some clean vocals have been attempted here, mainly in Track 3 and I’m sorry Shagrath... but what were you thinking? Recent Dimmu Borgir releases have some fantastic clean vocals that I am a huge fan of, but I’m afraid something is very wrong with these puppies!!!!! They sound like a nasty cross between German Folk Singing and a (much thinner and more evil) Pavarotti!!!! Lets just put it down to experience shall we!

Favourite Track? ‘For all Tid’ ...it’s the only track I found on this CD that had any real contrast and variation.

Bottom Line: This is a pretty good debut for a now very popular and well know Black Metal band. But in comparison to some of the other Nordic metal bands within the genre at the same time it's perhaps a little weak.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on March 26, 2024.

I don’t think that there exists such thing as a national character. Nevertheless I am convinced that the creator of Earth did not spread humour in big portions over Scandinavia. Otherwise there would not be this gigantic horde of black and death metal musicians who hail from the Northern end of the Old World. But no rule without exception, Necrophobic obviously belong to the more humorous guys. I have realized this in view of the advance tracks they released for In The Twilight Grey. Usually, we can be sure that the songs which should make us believe that they announce a gargantuan milestone of any band are among the three best tracks of the following full-lengths. But the pretty generic 'Stormcrow' with its nearly mediocre chorus and the pretty powerless centre part and especially the relatively harmless, somehow almost inadequately bombastic 'As Stars Collide' march to a different drummer. To me, they appeared like the harbinger of a medium-sized disappointment. Let me say it unambiguously: 'Stormcrow' is still a 7 out of 10 and 'As Stars Collide' deserves a 6.5 – but come on, we are speaking about Necrophobic, the legend that has given us divine gifts like 'Mirror Black', 'Sacrosanct' or 'Revelation 666', to name just a few examples.

But don’t panic, Necrophobic – and here I come back to the topic humour – just had fun confusing their followers. In The Twilight Grey does not disappoint, because there are a couple of excellent songs; they only have other titles than the aforementioned tracks. Anyway, before I try to describe the highlights as good as I can, I want to underline the very positive fact that the quintet has not changed its general approach. Haunting melodies are surrounded by vehement outbursts and the charismatic, little confidence inspiring voice of Anders Strokirk. One might think: okay, that’s fine, but other, stylistically comparable bands trust more or less the same recipe. I agree, but due to whatever reasons, Necrophobic’s music embodies a diabolic elegance which is second to none. Perhaps main composer Sebastian Ramstedt’s musical feeling is outstanding, maybe there is a special chemistry when these dudes come together, maybe it is the fact that they do not use primitive shock effects or overly raw elements. Anyway, In The Twilight Grey is another album that represents the devil in his deluxe edition. This lad is not interested in shedding hectolitres of blood, he kills softly with an actually gentle smile. And naturally he profits from a very good production. The voice and the guitars appear flawlessly in my humble opinion. Especially the guitar sound finds the perfect place between morbid beauty and metallic aggression. Thus, it is only a minor detail that the drums of the only constant member of the band, Joakim Sterner, were allocated in the back rows. Sometimes they drown in the inferno of the six strings. In particular the double bass becomes a victim of the guitar dominance. But once again, this does not mean that I have a serious problem with the mix. It’s just not as perfect as the best songs of the Swedes, that’s all.

Speaking of good songs, In The Twilight Grey enters its most exciting, completely fascinating and most gloomy section with the first tones of 'Shadows Of The Brightest Night'. The piece lets the listener walk on the edge of the abyss, always in danger of falling in the next second. Naturally I prefer its intensive high speed outbursts, but the entire track is a monument of dark grace. This song is the entry to a really hellish trip. Next stop: 'Mirrors Of A Thousand Lakes'. It does not have the overwhelming morbidity of the 'Mirror Black', it is not among the fastest eruptions of the formation and its solo houses almost dreamy tones. Nevertheless, the dudes have opened the door to the darkest corner of their souls again and the result is great. 'Cast In Stone' does not only present a great solo. It is a mix of strict high speed parts and 'Tartarian Winds' heaviness, while the lyrics of 'Nordanvind' speak for themselves: “Carry my dreams in your storms...the bells will ring, let the northern sky sing”. I don’t think that I have a better description for this atmospherically dense song. Be that as it may, the best is yet to come. The title track heralds the Apocalypse with its fiery verses before it comes to a more harmonic chorus. The song grows and it embraces the listener violently with its cataclysmic vibrations. It is impressive to experience once again that ultimate intensity and a fine sense for harmonies are not mutually exclusive in the world of Necrophobic.

The evil outburst called 'Clavis Inferni' is the only track which is able to compete with the songs on the positions from five to nine. Motivated by a strictly hammering snare drum, the song jumps head first into devastating guitar leads. Of course, Necrophobic vary the tempo in this sombre ambassador of Satan too. Nevertheless, it is one of the more powerful ones her. Maybe this is the (very) little problem of In The Twilight Grey: the red-hot inferno of some of their former, most violent songs, does not occur very often here. But for example the beginning and the end of 'Clavis Inferni' make clear that even the musically most competent band is well advised to put the focus on sheer aggression from time to time. By contrast, the opener (stormy sections, but a relatively lame part in its centre) is good, but not phenomenal. Maybe it has the potential to grow, but up to now it does not stand out and honestly, I thought that a murderous introduction is always an advisable thing. However, perhaps the selection of 'Grace Of The Past' for the first position just mirrors the strange humour of Necrophobic once more.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on March 22, 2024.

There are a handful of bands whose game still remains strong even after 3 decades of their existence, without their creativity fading away and without their impact diminishing throughout time. In the Swedish metal scene, anything is possible to be everlasting as long as the commitment and effort doesn’t go to waste. Such is the case with the highly influential and brilliant black/death metal band Necrophobic, a band with such a strong reputation that doesn't have a single bad album in their entire discography, and yet they are still creating the same kind of magic that is just as fresh and satisfying as it was on their previous releases. Their last two albums Mark Of The Necrogram and Dawn Of The Damned were met with positive reviews from fans and critics, with both albums considered to be to be equally great and faithful to the band’s legacy. On March 15th, 2024, Necrophobic returned with their tenth full-length album In The Twilight Grey, marking their official third album with Anders Strokirk on vocals since his return in 2017 and the official first album with longtime session bassist Tobias Christiansson, who is now a full-time member of the band. Although their three previously released singles successfully managed to raise expectations and tease the upcoming album, the important question still remains: is it worth entering this realm entirely covered in twilight grey? Let’s find out....

Not a second of introduction or preparation and the album already starts off very strong with the first track 'Grace Of The Past' which is a good album opener that shows a great deal of promise that this will indeed be an authentic Necrophobic experience. From the very get-go you will be instantly welcomed by a plethora of badass riffs with plenty of tremolo picking, kick ass drumming by Joakim and harsh vocals of Anders Strokirk, that altogether dominate and burn like hellfire. What this album promises a lot is that there will be some awesome memorable bangers, some of which will leave the biggest impression. Perhaps the best example among those outstanding bangers is the phenomenal third track 'As Stars Collide', and I think it could easily be considered one of Necrophobic’s best songs with Anders Strokirk since 'Tsar Bomba'. The following track 'Stormcrow', which is yet another outstanding banger on this album, is somewhat of a nice stylistic hybrid with a bit melody, combining the band’s more death metal focused material that was on Nocturnal Silence with their finest blackened death metal moments from the later works such as Death To All and Mark Of The Necrogram. If you were on the lookout for some slightly more atmospheric moments on this album, don’t worry, because we’ve got those in here as well. The ominous 'Shadows Of The Brightest Night' and the epic 'Nordanvind' further expand this journey by making it more engaging, while also adding some elements of musical suspense. Throughout the entire album it’s non-stop banging and musical mayhem that turns everything to dust, building up to the grand finale of the album with the closing track 'Ascension (Episode Four)', that is an epic conclusion to the album, as well as a nice nod to their previous episodes 'Venaesectio', 'Descension' and 'Nifelhel' from Darkside in 1997.

As is the case with many of the band’s previous albums, they always make the songwriting feel dynamic and interesting, with plenty of moments that border with death metal, thrash metal and a bit of heavy metal, especially when it comes to the effective use of melody. Those who are familiar with the band’s signature sound and style will certainly not be disappointed with what this album has to offer, because it has everything that a Necrophobic fan such as myself would expect, down to every last bit. Overall, every song is packed with furious energy and some moments on this album feel like the entire band was super jacked on steroids while recording that they had to flex all their muscles without pulling back. You can simply tell that these guys were very enthusiastic and highly inspired during the making of the new album, as well as when they were recording it. Every riff, every bassline, every blast beat, every solo and every chorus in here is nothing but pure energy that obviously comes from the heart, without anything in their music or playing that could be considered untrue or forced in a desperate attempt to please the audience. The band gave their absolute 110% on this album and then added the “Midas Touch” by turning every idea into gold. Even when Necrophobic introduces some slower/mid-tempo moments in their songs, they can still make it sound heavy and evil at the same time, without breaking away from their established musical flow. Speaking of the overall musical flow, what I always loved about the band is that they always remained very faithful to their foundation, and here we see their stylistic consistency throughout the entire album being put to a good use and proving that they don’t need any fancy tricks or studio magic to make it as authentic as possible. The album flows so smoothly from section to section and from one track to another, even with their rich and dynamic songwriting that broadens the musical horizon. The album artwork by Jens Rydén (Thyrfing, ex-Naglfar) nicely depicts the musical essence of In The Twilight Grey album in physical form, which truly can’t be better depicted than a merciless reaper who turns all living things into ash as the hourglass on his enormous chain is ticking. As for the album’s sound production, it was once again done by Fredrik Folkare, and it is just as excellent as it was on all their previous releases starting from Hrimthursum in 2006, doing great justice to the band’s musical output and their signature sound.

For a long time since I’ve known them, Necrophobic has been one of those bands that has always been the definition of “true extreme metal for truly extreme metal fans”, while also being one of the bands that has never ever let me down with any of their previous albums. Even if I have enjoyed some of their albums less than others, I would still end up appreciating those works much later on, because I can still love it for what it is and enjoy it more than what many other bands, old or new, are doing at the moment. In the case of their new album In The Twilight Grey, they prove that they can still carry on and keep the everlasting flame burning for ages, gathering hordes of new fans to join them and march with pride under the mark of the Necrogram. It’s truly a magnificent album that succeeded to please the fan within me and exceed all my expectations. As a band who always sticks to their roots, never sold out for a wider audience and continued to produce such excellent material, I think that this album deserves to be rated a maximum 10 out of 10 for being an extraordinary piece of art. Let this album be an example that they have once again expanded their everlasting legacy for the world of black and death metal.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Michael on March 3, 2024.

The tenth full-length album by Swedish death/black metal legends comes with a cover from a new artist and with it they discontinued their interesting approach of visiting the Devil's Church. This time the cover reminds me more of “Paradise Lost” by the epic metal guys Cirith Ungol (no surprise with that title) but does this mean that Necrophobic have changed their style?

Well, generally not. They still have this rousing, highly catchy death/black metal mélange they did on their previous albums (okay, let's just forget Womb Of Lilithu which was, although not really bad, some kind of low light in their discography) that is based on the guitar work and the compositions by Sebastian Ramstedt who has become a real freak when it comes to guitar play and everything around the instrument. Anders Strokirks’́ vocals sound as frosty, sinister and powerful as ever but there’s also another little nuance to his performance. In some songs like the opener 'Grace Of The Past' he sometimes snorts out the words so that in my head manifests the picture of a fire breathing demon. This creates a very dark and evil atmosphere and is a stylistic device that works as great as hell, so to speak. And coming back to the guitar work on In The Twilight Grey, there is more classical heavy metal embedded into the songs than ever before. Whoever knows the guys, won't be too surprised because they have a huge penchant for classic heavy metal stuff from the 80s and so this is a logical step to incorporate some of these inspirations into their own music. This makes the songs much more diverse in comparison to their previous releases and with this they also offer a bigger target to attack. I can also imagine that some die-hard, trve death-black metal fans will have some issues with this more progressive songwriting because of not being 100% death-black. But in some moments there are also some more Bathory-like elements in so that the songs get a more blackish touch and like Joakim Sterner told me in the interview we did lately, with a track like 'Ascension (Episode Four)' they also go back into their past, namely to Darkside back from 1997.

I guess, one should review each of the ten songs to describe the album in full detail but this would burst the frame here, so I'll mention just a few to put into words how diverse In The Twilight Grey is. Let's start with 'As Stars Collide'. This is one of the most melodic and epic tracks Necrophobic ever did. The song is kept in a slow mid-tempo range with a repetitive chorus and galloping pace and reminds me pretty much of the Viking-era by the already mentioned Swedish black metal legend. 'Clavis Inferni' is a fast and furious death metal stomper with some more punkish vibes in the drumming. The chorus again is very catchy and stressed out by some fantastic and melodic guitar leads. Also the breaks incorporated are very intelligent and surprising. 'Shadows Of The Brightest Night' is one of my personal highlights, especially because of these palm-muted picks in the guitar play which is something they didn't use before. The song creates a very dense and threatening atmosphere and works out best in the dark (of course). And finally “Stromcrow” which was already released as first single in 2023 already is a typical Necrophobic death-black inferno again with a cool catchy chorus and an outstanding bridge part which has become super epic. This one will probably become a must-have when it comes to live shows.

So you can probably read in my words that the album has become a very interesting thing which wants to be discovered. In some parts it might be a little bit tricky to get access to it but like Joakim said, it's a “grower”.

Rating: 10 out of 10 Stormcrows