“Netherworlds” is an album that fills the room with a deep sense of foreboding and demands that the listener pay it their full attention. Dooming nature, booming sound, this album’s linear nature picks you up and pulls you along in a drone like fashion, driving you through a journey of sonic inspiration. A huge sound permeates through the entire record, with the foundation of these tracks being the slow, loathsome guitar riffs as well as the portent vocal tones that encircle the mix. The vocals are interesting and unique in and of themselves given that they, for the most part, resemble spoken word performances. Not unlike RAMMSTEIN, the album has a cinematic intensity about it forging a story in the listener’s mind. 

“Neophyte” opens the album up with tremendous power. The first section showcases just what the Swedish band is all about – a full massive sound that carries you on a bed of deep bass and scooped mid-range frequencies. This theme is followed through the first half of the album and ties the listener to dark emotions that engulf them. “Katharsis” is a track that encapsulates this power with its shuddersome guitar riffs and a chorus that incorporates a gothic nature with a choir in the back ground forcing the listener into a satanic ritual. However, from here the album takes a slight turn. Keeping to its roots of deep mixes and doom inspired styles, there is a more upbeat nature to the riffs and the overall character of the tracks. “Lusus Naturae” perfectly parades this newfound outlook to the songs. The use of double bass drumming and a more melodic approach to the vocals, as well as the introduction of a second vocalist really give this song a character unknown to the listener until this point. Immediately following this is “Motherland”. Again, more melodic than the first few tracks and a groovy riff that increases the intensity of the listening process, this song helps progress the album through styles that keep the listener intrigued. Finalising the album is “When the End Begins”, which rounds off the record perfectly. It gives the impression that the story is coming to an explosive end. The opening riff grapples the listener and tells them that there is no letting go. A perfect end to an album that really knows its own personality. After the monstrosity that is “Netherworlds”, it seems like there is no slowing down for STILLBORN.