Horrendous

Horrendous (U.S.): Anareta (Dark Descent Records)

Horrendous is a very restless form of death metal. I documented this trait on their previous album “Ecdysis” (2014), about which I pointed out: “Horrendous seems to get a kick out of tripping people’s expectations. Horrendous was known for playing ‘old school Swedish death metal’ when they formed in 2009, with their demo and with the 2012 album.”

Then the 2014 album hit and some people found the combination of death metal and melody different from the usual sounds. I also wrote that: “This band might turn out to be as unpredictable as Sentenced was from 1990 to 1996, when they finally started to settle down into a predictable style. The next Horrendous album is going to have some people running down street all confused.”

Well, here it is now. This is the new Horrendous in 2015. On the surface, this album walks and talks like death metal, but it is not as simple as that type of duck. The vocals are definitely death metal, a bit more Schuldinerian than ever before, to my ears. More expressive, more enunciated, more extended. After that, though, all bets are off. The old Opethian heavy prog riffing reveals, that, yes, this band is not happy unless they feel that they are moving and making changes to their sound. The shiny guitar solos bring home the point that they have been thinking about the ever-changing sounds of the band. Melody is a big part of the Horrendous guitar aesthetics. The drumming changes from uptempo, to midtempo and to proggy all over the place. My impression is that the band is just very unhappy with the idea that the previous album should dictate where the new album goes.

I have previously stated that the band is unhappy to be trapped in a box and this is another step in the ongoing saga that is Horrendous. One day this band will totally shock its listeners. This album is a step in that direction, but the growled vocals serve to avoid giving people a heart attack. Just you wait. The big shocker is coming. Nobody knows where this band is going, not even the band. They are beginning to show their confidence to change a lot. That confidence will only grow with time and at some point in the future, Horrendous will manage to surprise themselves big time and its audience won’t even see it coming.

For now, forget the melancholic death metal from previous albums. Forget the classic Entombed/Dismember-like guitar tone, also.

This new album is a different chapter. Join Horrendous for a brand new trip into the world of metal music, from their imagination to your mind. I hope that this band has a bright future. I hope that they don’t break up soon. I want to hear what will happen next. As for this album? Well, the sky’s the limit. Buckle up and put your helmet on. The new Horrendous is scheduled for October 30th, 2015.

www.darkdescentrecords.com

www.facebook.com/HorrendousDeathMetal

Horrendous - Sum of All Failures