Swedish death metal outfit LIK, gloriously return to action with the rise of album number four, Necro, debuting April 18th via Metal Blade Records. Standing loud and proud over other imitators, Necro is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror movie enriched with blood and gore while jam packed with over-the-top extremities.
The zombified cover art created by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson (Ink Fanatics), showcasing Necro in all its glory. The symbolism behind the artwork was intended as a reminder of just how special and exciting the genre is: Necro is packed with blood-curdling fantasy stories about war, death, zombies, world apocalypse, and murder all stacked with disgustingly good, rotten riffs.
After recording and releasing their critically acclaimed third full-length, Misanthropic Breed, during 2020’s pandemic, the band found it paramount to get back into the studio properly to record this time around. While Misanthropic Breed was recorded at the quartet’s rehearsal space where the band produced all their demos, LIK recorded Necro at NBS Studio (AKA Necromorbus Studio) in Söderfors, two hours from their home city.
Once again using uber-producer Lawrence Mackrory (Meshuggah, Katatonia, High Parasite, Decapitated), the bands music was recorded live over a three-day period, before vocalist/guitarist Tomas Åkvik headed to Uppsala to record his vocals at Mackrory’s Rorysound Studios. Mackrory has worked alongside LIK – whose name translates to “corpse” in Swedish – since their 2015 debut Mass Funeral Evocation and throughout their impressive career through Metal Blade Records that came to fruition with their 2018 Carnage.
Within Necro’s ten tracks, LIK has created a seamless album from start to finish. Fans can expect diverse fuelled tempos that don’t stray from any of their blood-soaked intensity and relentless in-your-face-attitude listeners have come to expect. There are twists and turns that keep LIK on a progressive path without losing sight of their old-school trademark sounds inspired by the godfathers Dismember, At The Gates and, of course, Entombed.
'Necro' Track Listing
1. Deceased
2. War Praise
3. They
4. Worms Inside
5. Morgue Rat
6. Shred into Pieces
7. In Ruins
8. The Stockholm Massacre
9. Fields of Death
10. Rotten Inferno
LIK’s Thoughts On The Album:
“We didn't really want to repeat ourselves, but of course we wanted the LIK sound,” - Åkvik explains on the writing trajectory of Necro.
In advance of the record’s release, LIK unleashes first single, “War Praise.” Åkvik elaborates, “We had to write this track before we could even start working on the new album. A LIK track that felt just like LIK but with enough new stuff to make it interesting for us. Sadly enough the world is still plagued by wars so we had to write about the horrors of it.”
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