Photo by Michaela Barkensjö
Watch/stream LIK’s “Deceased” HERE
Swedish death metallers, LIK, today unleash their new video for “Deceased.” The track comes off their brilliantly brutal Necro full-length, released on April 18th via Metal Blade Records.
Within Necro’s ten tracks, LIK – whose name translates to “corpse” in Swedish – has created a seamless album, diverse in tempo but without losing 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 straying from their old-school trademark sounds inspired by the godfathers Dismember, At The Gates and, of course, Entombed.
Necro is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror movie that’s drenched in blood and gore and packed with over-the-top extremities. Delve beyond the zombified cover art created by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson (Ink Fanatics), LIK’s Necro serves as a reminder of just how special and exciting the genre is: packed with blood-curdling fantasy stories about war, death, zombies, world apocalypse, and murder all stacked with disgustingly rotten riffs.
Lauds Metal Hammer Germany of the release, “…LIK tells us blood-soaked, imaginative stories peppered with everything good death metal needs: zombies, necrophilia, murder, death, war, and dystopian end-time scenarios that culminate in total decay. Necro sounds classic yet contemporary. Not dusty, rotten, or mothballed, but fresh, spicy, and deadly precise. Swedish death metal as it couldn’t be more Swedish.” Dead Rhetoric champions the band’s “finest album to date,” adding, “It’s utterly abrasive, yet it never blurs together due to the way they can weave in melodies in just the right proportions. Necro is an absolute winner for anyone seeking death metal done right,” while Metal Temple crowns Necro “the Swedish death metal album of the year,” further noting, “It captures the spirit of the genre with flawless execution, proving that LIK stands at the top of the modern scene.”
Comments vocalist/guitarist Tomas Åkvik on “Deceased,” “This is the opening track of the album and it’s a total Entombed homage. It has everything from mid-tempo to skank beats. Lyric-wise, it’s about a guy who tries to come back from the dead to avenge his death.”
Watch LIK’s “Deceased” video HERE.
Watch LIK’s previously released video for “War Praise” HERE and “Morgue Rat” HERE.
Necro was recorded at NBS Studio (AKA Necromorbus Studio) in Söderfors, two hours from the band’s home city. Once again using uber-producer Lawrence Mackrory (Meshuggah, Katatonia, High Parasite, Decapitated), all music was recorded live over a three-day period, before Åkvik headed to Uppsala to record his vocals at Mackrory’s Rorysound Studios. Mackrory has worked with LIK since their 2015 debut Mass Funeral Evocation and throughout their Metal Blade Records’ career that started with 2018’s Carnage. It’s clear upon first listen that with Necro, the quartet have produced some of the best work of their decade-plus long career.
Necro features guest appearances by Linnea Landstedt (Tyranex, Ice Age), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost, Bloodbath), and Lawrence Mackrory (F.K.Ü.).
The record is available on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
180g Black
Tombstone Grey Blue Marbled
Dark Sky Red Marbled (Ltd. 500)
Clear Violet Blue Marbled (Ltd. 300)
Lilac/Blood Red Splatter (Ltd. 300)
Lilac Blackdust (Ltd. 200) * Sold Out *
Violet Purple Splatter (Ltd. 200)
Coffin Purple Black Splatter (Ltd. 300)
Find orders at metalblade.com/lik.
LIK Live:
5/23/2025 Maryland Deathfest – Baltimore, MD
5/28/2025 Kulturhuset – Stockholm, SE *Necro Release Show*
6/14/2025 Czech Deathfest – Cerveny Kostelec, CZ
7/02/2025 Rockmaraton Festival – Dunaújváros, HU
8/07/2025 Rock The Park 2025 @ Parksnäckan — Uppsala, SE w/ The Black Dahlia Murder
8/15/2025 Summer Breeze – Dinkelsbühl, DE
8/30/2025 Malmö Massacre – Malmö, SE
9/26/2025 Legend Metalfest – Trondheim, NO
10/24–25/2025 Odense Metalfest – Odense, DK
“LIK tells us blood-soaked, imaginative stories peppered with everything good death metal needs: zombies, necrophilia, murder, death, war, and dystopian end-time scenarios that culminate in total decay. Necro sounds classic yet contemporary. Not dusty, rotten, or mothballed, but fresh, spicy, and deadly precise. Swedish death metal as it couldn’t be more Swedish.” – Metal Hammer Germany
“…straight up death metal fury. Some melodic elements are present here, but this is largely death metal that sounds like it was fueled by three metal zone pedals in a row (in a great way). Quite the return following a five year gap.” – Metal Injection
“Compositions, playing, vocals, and sound are of such a consistently high level for forty minutes that LIK leaves many other Swedeath devotees behind. And because the album is soaked with blood, zombies, and gore, the band also succeeds in its mission to make Necro the ‘musical equivalent of a classic shock horror film.’” – Aardschok
“Necro is like a punch you never saw coming. You never saw it coming because the assailant set up the attack beforehand with clever angles and terrible intentions.” – Metal Digest
“…their finest album to date. It’s utterly abrasive, yet it never blurs together due to the way they can weave in melodies in just the right proportions. Necro is an absolute winner for anyone seeking death metal done right.” – Dead Rhetoric
“…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.” – Toilet Ov Hell
“Necrois all about 1980s old-school death metal plus the melodic guitars of our dear old-school heavy metal. Drumming is pulsating, intense, and exciting that it makes it impossible for the dear fan not to bang until the neck falls off.” – Metal Addicts
“This Swedish death metal outfit have found their place in the genre, with ten songs in a succinct order that goes from blistering corruption to haunting loneliness.” – Heavy Music HQ
“Once again, we must emphasize their truly excellent sound. Voluminous yet lively; warm yet edgy – LIK and their producer Necromorbus set the standard for death metal. Anyone who loves this sound will find it impossible to ignore Necro, just like all its predecessors.” – Metal.de
“Necro certainly doesn’t do much to reinvent the death metal wheel, but it’s LIK refining their sound, playing with it gleefully and morbidly… Death metal fans – especially those with a warm, bloody hole in their hearts for the Gothenburg sound and edgy lyrics – need to peep this LP.” – Everything Is Noise
“…raw and furious. It is a raging death metal album that fascinates from beginning to end.” – Markus Heavy Music Blog
“Necro isn’t just a great Swedish death metal album; it’s the Swedish death metal album of the year. It captures the spirit of the genre with flawless execution, proving that LIK stands at the top of the modern scene. Brutal, raw, groovy, and relentlessly catchy, the album is everything it needs to be. If you crave that old-school Stockholm sound with a fresh dose of energy, this is the album to beat.” – Metal Temple
“…a masterclass in classic Swedish death metal.” – Wonderbox Metal
“A slab of true Swedish death metal that holds nothing back while celebrating where the band has been while simultaneously charging forward, it’s the very whole of Necro that never once disappoints.” – Head-Banger Reviews
LIK:
Tomas Åkvik – vocals, guitar
Niklas “Nille” Sandin – guitar
Chris Barkensjö – drums
Joakim Antman – bass
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