In 1989, a couple of unknown, young Swedes released a demo called Realm Of Terror – back then, probably even the only remaining founding member Joakim didn't suspect that NECROPHOBIC would not only stick around 35 years later, but have become one of the most influential black/death bands of all time, having just released a whopping tenth studio album.

Naturally, after all this time and with such a status, you have to measure yourself mainly against your own past works - and NECROPHOBIC have delivered more than just one masterpiece. At the same time, you can't (of course) expect no changes whatsoever in such a long time, and so I personally have the impression that NECROPHOBIC have become a little bit “calmer” on In The Twilight Grey.

However, this impression may as well just be due to the two not-that-great tracks on this. To get the unpleasantness out of the way: As Stars Collide (being also too similar to the opener with only one track in between) as well as the immediately following Stormcrow (for my taste with a superfluous middle part - the weakest of the obligatory “quasi-ballads” each album features) are not bad tracks in themselves, but seem strangely generic and meaningless for what I am used to hear from NECROPHOBIC.

On the bright side, In The Twilight Grey does also contain a whole bunch of songs of the usual outstanding quality and is (almost needless to mention) perfectly recorded. Anders' vocals, Johan's drumming as well as the bass playing of new band member Tobias Cristiansson are spot on. Johan Bergebäck and Sebastian Ramstedt are undoubtedly one of the best guitar duos the genre has ever seen and use the album to showcase all facets of their skills. From the thrash-influenced Clavis Inferni (and even more The Torture Never Stops, which is only included on the deluxe edition) to the epic, atmospheric-melodic Nordanvind with its extremely catchy theme, then again dominating guitar solos in front of a melodic death backdrop (Cast In Stone) to classic heavy metal influences in Shadows Of The Brightest Night or Blackened The Horizon (only included in the deluxe version), the listener is offered an enormous range of variation. The title track In The Twilight Grey, on the other hand, neatly brings together many of the band's stylistic devices and is, in my opinion, one of the album's major highlights with its incessantly driving drums and the combination of harsh, yet melodic vocals and its unapologetically catchy guitar sections in the last third.
The outro Ascension (Episode Four) ties in with 1997's Darkside and links the current album with the band's distant past.

Despite the two less-than-great songs (at least by my taste and of course measured against their own standards), In The Twilight Grey should not be missing from any record cabinet of not only a fan of the band but also fans of the black/death metal genre in general. And the deluxe edition with its additional two tracks makes up for the two abovementioned ones, if you get that version of the album ;)