Review Summary: A fierce metal album from one of the most unfairly unfamiliar black metal bands.
Necrophobic’s debut is considered a classic and for all the right reasons. It was the second wave of black metal at it’s peak and it got it’s fair share of attention, but their third album was sandwiched in between their amazing Darkside and the equally good Bloodhymns so it’s not strange that The Third Antichrist was somewhat forgotten. It is actually in my most humble opinion almost as good as the rest of Necrophobic’s releases. The Third Antichrist isn’t really as strong as the rest, but is certainly worth any black-metal fans time.
The Third Antichrist feels more like blackened death metal than Necrophobics other releases around this time, and is undoubtedly more melodic. I’m aware of the fact that Necrophobic is almost always considered as a blackened death metal band, but this album just has more of the death element in it. It is more similar to bands like Hypocrisy than other black metal releases at the end of the nineties. The song Into Armageddon is really a sign of this since it’s a very “rocky” (as in rock’n roll) tune. It’s more melodic and bit more simpler than Necrophobic’s other tracks. This album has, however, not any ties to the Gothenburg sound overall. The production feels overall more “fat” and basy than their other releases and is missing the coldness and snowy feeling that makes black metal so atmospheric. This album actually isn’t too atmospheric in general. It’s obvious thought that they weren't going for a chilling atmosphere here (see the album cover and first song), but the Dissection “wannabe” sound is still there. The drumming and riffs are not nearly as aggressive as in their previous albums which might be a disappointment, but they were obviously going for something different on this album and the actually succeeded. While the lyrics are still good they don’t have the same impact as they had on the first two. The topic might still be pretty much the same, but it feels more cliché on The Third Antichrist.
It might not be my favorite Necrophobic album, but it still is an unappreciated album-not only on this site, but overall. It really doens’t deserve having a lot lesser votes and score. This review is simply a callout to everyone that likes this band, but hasn’t listened to this album. Go get this album, it’s definitely worth it.
