While certainly old school and Swedish, Mordbrand’s style is more rooted in the punky, simply, but effective, d-beat throes of peers like Bastard Priest, Tormented and some of Rogga Johansson’s projects (namely Revolting and Ribspreader). It’s to the point, it’s simple and its a rollicking good time that isn’t trying to force the style and nostalgia down your throat with an over done mid range production, but a healthy organic Stockholm buzz that’s natural and dusty.

That all being said, this project isn’t a game changer, none of the songs have a real classic or truly brilliant moment or riff like some of their reactivated peers (ie Entrails) or similarly nostalgic bands (Brutally Deceased, Demonical, Putereaon, etc), just a consistent, solid and reliable pace and structure. But like bands like Vangheld or Nominon, I don’t think Peter and Co set out to reinvent the wheel, just revisit it effectively. Many of the track have classic early Dismember/Entombed canter such as opener “Revelate”, “Their Name Are Myriads”, ‘The Spawning (Born of Rot)”and the  more furious “Hoarding the Grotesque”  . But the band, as with the aforementioned EP, like to slow things down to a bit more of an Autopsy inspired mid paced or slower crawl as heard on the aptly named ‘That Which Crawls” and arguable album standout  “Bastion of Blood” or parts of closer ‘Sever the Limbs That Grace” . A little experimentation surfaces for the short atmospheric title track, but for the most part, you know exactly what you are getting here.

My only slight misgiving is larger picture as I wished  Peter had returned with a project more akin to God Macabre and taken a more doomy/epic or unique take on the style as opposed to this,  an admittedly well done, but  dime a dozen homage that’s a little saturated right now, if still incredibly satisfying.

Joined by two members of obscure acts Horned and The Law, Mordbrand isn’t quite God Macabre or Macabre End part two, but it is 6 songs of awesome old school Swedish death metal with a focus on punky “dis” styled, d-beat galloping. There isn’t the doom element of The Winterlong, but there’s the mid range, but not overly done tone, and a slight Autopsy tinge that’s similar and the overall feel is in the general area at times.

At 27 minutes,  Necropsychotic is a nice length EP but still rushes by in energetic fashion. Mostly due to the fact that the songs are mostly higher octane numbers that gallop with a catchy but feral glee. None of them really stand out, but the groundwork is laid for a future release that compares favorably to the recent crop of Swedish death metal, notably the Revolting and Ribspreader releases.

Opener “Eaters of the Void” is a simple, raucous old school romp that actually reminded me of Master, but with more death metal vocals. “Graveyard Revisited” is a pure Nihilist trot, complete with sprawling mid section and wild eyed solo. “Skarseld (Return to the Unholy)” starts with an Autopsy styled ooze before settling into a familiar trot. And that would be the EP’s only real downfall; the often repetitive d-beat drum pattern that rarely deviates. “The Fall of the Flesh” delivers one of the rare breaks from the mold with a slower, more controlled gait, but its back to business with “Deathbound”. “Deliverance” closes the EP a little awkwardly with the  second slower track, again imbuing Autopsy‘s sickly crawl, but on the whole this is a tasty little EP that adds to 2010s plethora of the quality Swedish death metal revival releases.