Swedes did it again… I mean, whether it’s in their blood or water or Absolut Vodka or whatever (definitely not in their piss water, known as the ‘Swedish quality beer’. Sorry to say, spit this out dear Swedes), Sweden’s Metal music scene has always been full of positive superlatives as far as some amazing Swedish traditions for Metal music in particular, are concerned. Enter a Black / Death Metal band from Stockholm named NETHERBIRD – and the band’s 3rd album in order, titled "The Ferocious Tides Of Fate". First off, I sincerely need to admit I haven’t heard any earlier works from them, so they are a completely new group to me. What have we learnt from the Swedish Metal scene earlier, could the question be? To answer it by myself, it’s simply packed with so much talent that it makes all of us envy them… well, just a little bit at least. NETHERBIRD tells a story about one talented quintet that’s able to craft many killer songs that are meant to stand on their own feet, to create a truly enjoyable wholeness. And that’s exactly what "The Ferocious Tides Of Fate" is all about, no more or no less. To me, NETHERBIRD re-awakens the same nostalgic vibe and feeling that many already disbanded artists on the Swedish Black Sun Records, Wrong Again Records or No Fashion Records used to bring to us during the early and mid nineties – in the form of such bombastically wonderful releases as "Velvet Creation" by EUCHARIST, "Secrets Of The Black Arts" by DARK FUNERAL, "The Somberlain" by DISSECTION, "Tusen År Har Gått…" by MÖRK GRYNING, "Vittra" by NAGLFAR, "In The Forest Of The Dreaming Dead" by UNANIMATED and so on. I cannot help it a bit but whenever I am spinning through NETHERBIRD’s "The Ferocious Tides Of Fate", I am reminded by the past glories of the Swedish melodic Black / Death Metal scene, the 90s in particular. NETHERBIRD throws us a full swing of top-notch quality Swedish Black and Death Metal that is both blacker than thou blackest Black Horse pants yet more melodic sounding than a choir of sirens in the lust of men’s flesh. But seriously, NETHERBIRD is another sample proof for the Swedish skills to produce some amazingly tempting sounding Black / Death Metal – and the band’s 3rd effort is full of it all. Prepare for becoming amazed by this record. Yep, the Swedes truly did it once again… More about these pitch-black birds can be enjoyed at www.facebook.com/netherbird, label: www.scarecrowgroup.com