Review: LIK – Necro

April 14, 2025

700

LIKatung

The signature Swedish death metal style inspired by the likes of Entombed and Dismember has been commonly used over the years to the point that it may feel very overdone at times. However, despite this, there are some bands that still do the style a good service. One of these hailing from the homeland of the style is LIK; throughout their discography, they’ve made a solid effort in keeping the aggression that people enjoy in that sound. The band consists of members that have played in various bands such as Katatonia, Kaamos and Bloodbath. 5 years after their last album, Misanthropic Breed, they now are back with their 4th album titled Necro.

LIK comes out hard as expected with the opener, “Deceased.” As you expect from them, it comes off like a lost classic Entombed HM2-style banger. The band continues their fast-paced momentum on this album with “War Praise.” What I like with this track in particular is the lead guitars that give off an epic and groovy vibe. The groovier feeling carries on in “They,” a track that also packs in a nice, punchy guitar solo that makes it a fun one to listen to. The faster full-frontal assault comes back here with “Worms Inside;” it’s just filthy as hell and is an absolute blazer of a track, probably one of my favorites on the album.

They do turn back to their more mid-paced style with “Morgue Rat,” giving the bassist their time to shine here especially in the intro. The additional guest vocals from Linnea Landstedt (Ice Age, Tyranex) adds another sense of depth to make this song stand out. The band steps up their pace again with “Shred into Pieces” which is another fast and short rage-intensive track. The additional guitar solo in this track is also very welcome and adds to the rage of the track. “In Ruins” starts off with a very nice lead guitar intro as well, showing off more of their groovier Entombed-inspired style here. However, the cameo on this track from Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost and Bloodbath is very blink-and-you-miss-it.

One of the things I’ve noticed with this effort is the little additions LIK has made to their sound without going out of their comfort zone, which is very welcome. I really like how they have their guitar leads go out and let loose a bit more on this record. Based on their home country’s history books, “The Stockholm Massacre” rips hard and has a nice, grizzly tone here that fits the lyrical theme of the song.

The heavy momentum continues here with “Fields of Death,” which is probably my favorite track on this album—an absolute riot. It mixes up their vocal aggression well with the guitars just letting loose in the carnage. It also feels like a track that would fit in with their debut album, Mass Funeral Evocation, which is still probably the band’s best record. Finishing off the album is “Rotten Inferno” which is a completely different track than usual for LIK. As opposed to their usual Swedish death metal sound, this one has more of a Mental Funeral-era Autopsy feel here. While it’s certainly an unusual direction from LIK, it works well to close out the album on a good note.

Overall, this is another very solid and fun effort from the band. While I don’t think it eclipses their debut album or Misanthropic Breed, I do like this more than Carnage. It’s another typical LIK album in that if you heard their previous efforts, this one is more of the same as you expect from them. Additionally, the vocals from Tomas Åkvik are top of the game in that style for giving out the rage, aggression and vicious growls with strong execution. It does take some occasional and interesting detours from their typical sound that felt welcome, and some small additions adds a bit extra for them. If you haven’t really been into this band before, this one will not change your mind on them. If you want a straight-forward, fun Swedeath metal affair however, this one is for you. This ain’t going to set the world on fire, but it is a very comforting listen without feeling generic and mediocre,a common pitfall bands in the style can fall into. Thankfully, LIK doesn’t fall into this trap.