20 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2018 (So Far)

Mark of the Necrogram is a meaty slice of pure, unadulterated energy. The eighth album from Swedish mavens Necrophobic masterfully fuses black metal and melodic death metal to create a pulse-pounding journey full of fantastic and wacky riffs.

Mark of the Necrogram marks the return of both Johan Bergebäck and Sebastian Ramstedt on guitars, reuniting after manning the strings in Necrophobic for the vast majority of the 2000s. Their chemistry speaks for itself on their newest record, ebbing and flowing between harmonic solos, technical leads and manic rhythms.

Classic vocalist Anders Strokirk also makes his comeback, laying down his abrasive growls just as well as he did 25 years ago on Necrophobic’s debut, The Nocturnal Silence. Despite roaring like his life depends on it, Strokirk still makes room for invigorating yet pummelling melodies like those on lead single “Tsar Bomba”.

The only aspect working against this titan of melo-death madness is that it isn’t exactly the most diverse chunk of music to drop this year. But, still, the sheer excitement jam-packed inside Mark of the Necrogram more than makes up for that, with a consistency and direct honesty that refuses to ever once become anything close to repetitive.

For people out there that want all killer, no filler heaviness that is zero percent bullsh*t, this is your album.