"Womb of Lilithu" is the first Necrophobic album that feels like just another Necrophobic album. It took the Swedish death/black metal faction four years to respond after "Death to All," which, in my opinion, was one of the finest albums they've ever released. Necrophobic's remaining records are between adequate and masterful, never settling for lackluster territory—not many bands with twenty-plus years of experience under their belts have had that luxury. Well, as much as I hate to say it, "Womb of Lilithu" is the sound of Necrophobic running out of gas. The band doesn't do anything different here, which would've been completely fine had they been able to keep the traditional Necrophobic style overflowing with passion and vitality. No such luck, sadly, as "Womb of Lilithu" looks unusually tired and seldom noteworthy.It's a disheartening release for a few reasons. First, Necrophobic never had to change much throughout its rampage. I've always seen them as the Swedish Cannibal Corpse: while the sound remained the same, the quality never suffered. "Womb of Lilithu" is the exception to the rule. Perhaps this was due to the departures of Sebastian Ramstedt and Johan Bergebäck, who had served the group loyally for many years, or vocalist Tobias Sidegård's legal situation that ultimately led to his dismissal after this record was released. Whatever the reason(s), "Womb of Lilithu" just isn't the same. Tobias' razor-filled shrieks/growls slice like a knife through flesh, while the standard Necrophobic-styled death/black metal continues its onslaught. In essence, Necrophobic being Necrophobic.
However, the atmosphere is totally gone, as if it were scooped up by some atmosphere-stealing pelican. The album's prime moments, "The Necromancer" and "Astaroth," are decent, but miles from the usual Necrophobic standard. On the other hand, "Splendour Nigri Solis" and others offer little of value, as they chug through the motions of typical death/black metal pieces and appear more underwhelming than bombastic. Hell, I can't remember a thing about "Marquis Phenex" (I guess they liked Gears of War) or "Paimon" or "Marchosias" or most of the record for that matter. A few new tricks to spice things up a bit here and there, yet little overshadows the songwriting woes and the band's tedious direction. Over an hour's worth of material makes the list of issues more bothersome; six of these tunes could've been pitched without anyone batting an eye.
Never thought I'd see this day, but Necrophobic is falling apart here. They are creatively retracing their former works without validating the previous greatness of yesteryears, coming off instead as a band that is completely out of ideas and passion. The style of material they present is straightforward yet lacking, settling for a large quantity of numbers rather than trimming the fat for a shorter listen that could actually become more than a passable experience. With fourteen anthems that range from listenable to downright boring, "Womb of Lilithu" is a pale shadow of Necrophobic's former glories, making this effort easily the worst Necrophobic offering available and one that is surpassed by the group's other works without question or debate.