When the reviews list containing this came in, I had no idea of who Horrendous were. So imagine the guilt I felt upon learning that numerous AN contributors – who evidently did have an idea – were clamouring for it. All I can offer in defense is that my first few seconds listening to the band were enough to make me stop and immediately order both their debut and this in CD format… Such was the impact that hearing a microcosm of Horrendous had. After rapidly getting to grips with their mighty debut ‘The Chills’ – a strikingly vicious and sophisticated example of death metal – engaging with this magnificent beast was obviously next on the agenda. Little did I suspect that the stunning cover art would be a precise representation of what happens to the human body and soul when confronted with this crushing musical statement.
The guitars at the beginning of ‘The Stranger’ are a great introduction to the confounding world of Horrendous – brutal, abrasive and doom-ridden but at the same time warm. As the drums kick in, these doom strokes continue only for exquisite melodic guitar lines to start dancing out. When we get to what we all came for, the death metal proves to be total death. Beyond the typically Swedish shredding guitar tone and brain penetrating kick drums are nods to all sorts of legendary bands: from flirtations with the ripping melodic work of Edge Of Sanity and Dissection to the relentless torture of Autopsy. Once the haunting, terrifying final section has departed along with its brilliant harmonious solos, all that’s left to do is try and collect yourself up from the heap of depleted humanity that you’ve just been turned into. Although of course, there’s no time for that. ‘Weeping Relic’ comes next and leaps straight for the jugular, cascading riffs down on your skull like bricks. Again, exquisite melodies rub shoulders with creeping atmospheres amidst a framework of primal death metal.
As the album manifests, it’s hard to picture a greater example of death metal packed with melody. For all the passages in which stringed instruments weave in and out of each other or solos pour satisfyingly out, Horrendous’ brand of death is undiluted and utterly punishing. And the manner in which they shift seamlessly back and forth between soundscapes is a testament not only to the excellent musicianship and song-writing of the band members but also the dedication that has gone into ‘Ecdysis’. From the tormenting descent of ‘Resonator’, its vocals a cross between ‘Evil’ Chuck and Luc Lemay, we march straight into the beautiful, unexpected acoustic aside ‘The Vermillion’. Like Morbid Angel with ‘Desolate Ways’, it’s almost as if the band is including this sublime aside just to show off that bit extra how fucking great they are. More realistically, it breaks the punishment up to perfection until ‘Nepenthe’ drags us back into an intoxicating world of doom and wafting melody. At times the music charges like Dismember, guitar lines and melodies flitting about, until ghostly cries and abstract keyboard atmospherics usher in the closing passage.
Irrespective of style, everything Horrendous does on this album is undiluted class. Whether dishing out oppressive doom, raging with Neanderthal brutality or musically dazzling, they are constantly playing their bollocks off in fulfilling the design of their meticulously conceived ‘Ecdysis’ plan. Of all the compositions, ‘When the Walls Fell’ stands out more than the rest. I’ll admit, when I first heard this classically geared metal instrumental with sleekness gushing out of every orifice, it did seem a step too far in the accessible direction. But having listened to the track multiple times in the context of the album, it’s really not; on the contrary, it serves a similar purpose to ‘The Vermillion’ by breaking the listen up on the band’s own daring terms. Penultimate song ‘Pavor Nocturnus’ follows, initially forlorn and unsettling, before recalling tech-Death via some sweet progressive riffs, bubbling bass and vomitous shrieks. Far more imposing however is album closer ‘Titan’. The start alone is magnificent; its gracefully sombre opening chords erupting consecutively into existence before fading to reflective near silence.
As the final minutes transpire, agonised vocals spewing out, this magisterial piece of music embodies the immensity and excellence of ‘Ecdysis’ as a whole. Where 2012’s debut clearly marked the band as an awesome death metal entity, this follow-up renders them essential. I can’t recall listening to a new album from front to back this much for a long time, let alone hearing one which melds the various faces of death metal so uniquely. There really is only one score for such a feat.
(10/10 Jamie)
24/11/2014 at 6:31 pm
I had a very similar reaction to first hearing this album. I was unfamiliar with the band, but I took their affiliation with Dark Descent Records as reason enough to give it a listen. I’m a somewhat jaded 40 yr old metal head, and it takes a lot anymore to really surprise me in an era of a hundred new bands/albums per week. This album has not left the player since I got it.