Swedes Necrophobic are about as 'old school' as a death metal band can get, having formed in 1989, before the genre went completely over the edge into homicidal blur n' growl, back when Morbid Angel and, well, Death, were the pioneers of speed metal's unhinged new offspring. As such, "Bloodhymns", does not sound like gut bucket grindcore or spasm gang horror business, it sounds like fuckin' Destruction. Whiplash thrash metal played with mad surgeon precision and raspy, Witchery-styled vocals are the order of the day, and this shit moves, baby, like a snake on wheels, like a plague of locusts getting down to their dirty work. There's a thick lyric booklet included (with some really bitchin' somber-spooky oil paintings, as well), so you can growl along to their apocalyptic anthems, but I suspect you'll be too busy snapping your neck in a headbanging frenzy to read it. Immortal fans take note- these cats are the fiery version of the blizzard beasts. "Bloodhymns" is a blistering, all out thrash n' roll assault. Consider the horns thrown.