accolades, however, they have remained a largely underground force, as of yet unknown to the uninitiated.  But with the release of Idol, their fourth full length and first through Season of Mist, 2018 will be – beyond any shadow of a doubt – a monumental breakout year for Horrendous.

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Let me begin by stating that Idol is Horrendous’s strongest work thus far, a remarkable achievement considering the band’s already prodigious catalog. This record is the group’s first since 2015’s Anareta, marking the longest interval of time between releases thus far in the band’s career.  However, after hearing the incredible forward progress realized between Anareta and Ecdysis, released exactly one year apart, one could only imagine what the group would deliver after three years of touring and songwriting.  And deliver they did: clocking in at 40:04, Idol is eight tracks of progressive, masterful, death metal, a savagely haunting tour de force defined by powerful songwriting and even more powerful performances.  According to Horrendous, the album is “thematically…an exploration of defeat, of the gods we build in our minds to escape the responsibility of action and change as we relinquish our agency. The music in Idol mimics this act of deity building, with sprawling compositions that are imposing in scope and mirror the great turmoil of our times.”  In a truly masterful feat of musicianship, Horrendous has crafted a record that expands upon the complexity and technicality of Anareta while simultaneously infusing more melodic and atmospheric grandeur than ever before.  Replete with fiery, jagged riffs, blistering guitar solos, and harrowing dual vocals from guitarists Damian Herring and Matt Knox, Idol encapsulates the listener in a mysterious, otherworldly mental landscape of despair and alienation that defies stagnation even for a single moment, and ultimately leaves you thirsting for more.

 

Steeped in sinister ambience, the album begins with "…Prescience", an introductory track that invites us into its unique realm with an echoing, cavernous soliloquy provided by low-end magician Alex Kulick, whose luscious, earthy bass tones are a prominent feature of Idol’s sound.  Kulick’s tone is a standout feature on Idol; rather than being crushed under the weight of guitars and percussion, his basslines remain prominent and easily audible for the entirety of the record, bolstering each track with syncopated rhythms and fascinating harmonies.  Furthermore his lush fluidity stylishly compliments the more hard-edged guitars with the kind of crystal clear sonic craftsmanship typically reserved for bands such as Beyond Creation, Gorod, and others from the Québécois tech-death scene.  On "…Prescience", we are also given a glimpse of Herring’s added use of keyboards, layering Idol with atmospheric elements that immerse its compositions in a grandly eerie ambience.  Following a swift drum fill, we are thrust immediately into the full grandeur of Horrendous’s sonic assault with the second track, "Soothsayer", which debuted in July as the record’s first single.  "Soothsayer" quickly informs the listener of exactly what sort of madness is in store for the next seven tracks; as the keyboards crest into a massive, resounding chord, we are given our first taste of the thick, deliciously crunchy guitar tone of the album, delivered through an angular riff bouncing across odd time signatures.  Only thirty seconds into "Soothsayer", the opening riff ascends into a truly epic dual guitar solo, which then subsides as our ears are graced with Matt Knox’s haunting, vacuous,  Luc Lemay-esque howl.  From this point we enter the full meat of the song; dancing, spiraling, riffs performed in the style of Atheist but produced with the panache and precision of Animals as Leaders gallop across Jamie Knox’s hypnotic whirlpool of percussive acrobatics.  Matt and Damian swap grandiose melodic leads and vocal phrases, each with his own distinctly harrowing technique of mid-register roar, with both often joining together instrumentally and vocally in a writhing, evocative chorus of chaos.  This double approach provides us with a wider variety of harsh vocal style than would be possible with only one primary vocalist, as each remains within his own rather contained register for the majority of the album.  "Soothsayer" is a relentless track, assaulting the listener with more solos than should be possible in the span of five minutes, seamlessly weaving righteous, soaring leads into quick, sinister riffs at a blistering pace.

 

"The Idolater", Idol’s third track and second single, unfurls at a slightly slower pace, transporting us into some of the larger concepts of the album with a Sound of Perseverance-esque intro, complete with vibrant cymbals and a deftly performed, bubbling bass solo.  In an homage to the classic style of OSDM, the track then briefly pauses before cranking up the tempo, launching "The Idolater" into a much faster version of the same riff, a towering 6/8 gallop that serves yet again as a preview of ideas to come.  According to guitarist/vocalist Matt Knox, the song is “musically the most direct on the album…adhering to a more 'traditional' song structure with a verse and 'chorus' of sorts that anchor the song as it develops and briefly veers off in different musical directions.  The music and lyrics are also closely intertwined, with complementary changes in tone, tempo and dissonance as the lyrical narrative progresses.”  Thus, it serves as a sort of centerpiece for the first half of the album; where "Soothsayer" thrusts the listener into the sonic realm of Idol, "The Idolater" introduces us to its thematic content, demonstrating the fully intertwined nature of Idol’s music, lyrics, and overall concept.  Knox goes on to state that “"The Idolater" is the most direct expression of malaise on Idol, lyrically honing in on the despotic political figureheads that seem to be coming to power in the Western world.  The 'tyrant' of the song, while applicable to our times, is also archetypal, reflecting the age-old cycles of power gained through intimidation and fear, and personal agency traded for a (false) sense of security. It all falls in line with the larger theme of the album of relinquishing one's power and self-determination to the various idols that surround us, and questioning our roles in sustaining them.”

 

Yet another element contributing to the central, unifying concept of Idol is the cover art itself, created by artist Brian Smith, who also created the cover art for Anareta and Ecdysis.  "The cover art for Idol is a physical representation/manifestation of many of the themes found in the lyrics of the record," say the band.  “The creature on the cover represents both aspects of this loss of agency and the general feeling of malaise I think so many people (some far more than others) feel.  This further highlights the sense of alienation that permeates the lyrics and establishes a great visual metaphor representing the monstrous fortresses we build in our minds whenever we submit to toxic, destructive patterns of thinking.”  The artwork contrasts the jagged, savage teeth of a skeletal, decaying beast with an array of rectangular, polygonal prisms flying out from its face, a visual allusion to the album’s amalgamation of the older, rawer sound of OSDM and the progressive precision of Horrendous’s modern sound.  Like Leprosy, Spiritual Healing, or Unquestionable Presence, Idol is not merely about violence, gore, and brutality, but rather a kind of suffering caused by societal disillusionment and the contradictory feeling of isolation in the modern world.  One can hear the expression of this pain in every element of Idol – in the constantly shifting, frantic rhythms, the jagged, sinister riffs, and most especially in the vocals, which evoke feelings of abandonment and despair moreso than the burning hatred that is more commonplace within death metal.

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The genius behind "Soothsayer" and "The Idolater", the album’s two singles, is that they show us what Horrendous is capable of without immediately revealing the album’s full majesty.  One quickly realizes that this is Idol’s modus operandi: each track amazes the listener but also entices us to listen on, creating an atmosphere of suspenseful anticipation for what might come next.  Far too often, the featured singles from such an epic death metal album are the record’s best songs, with filler tracks providing underwhelming transitions to bolster the fluidity of the album.  On Idol, however, the singles are exactly what they should be – more straightforward tracks that draw listeners in while hiding the record’s highest echelon of material.  

 

Although “malaise” may be a self-proclaimed major theme of the album, the feeling Idol inspires in the listener is anything but.  From this point forward Idol begins to expand beyond anything Horrendous has attempted thus far, showcasing how progressive – in a truly authentic sense of the word – the group has become in the three years since Anareta.  Each successive track has something new and intriguing to offer as the band acknowledges their eclectic range of influences while also innovating entirely new ideas.  Track four, Golgothan tongues, incorporates melodeath leads and a pit-worthy 5/8 midsection, as well as introducing clean vocals layered in the background to support Herring’s diabolical, rasping sermon.  “The tyrant comes crawling, crawling back to me,” he declares over a soaring chorus of clean-sung background vocals, leading into a truly glorious Opethian solo and riff combo which march on into oblivion as the track fades to silence.  Divine Anhedonia (anhedonia defined as “the inability to feel pain”) begins with hemiola-laden melodic phrases traded between guitar and bass which then morph into patterns of odd-time signature riffs that boil and squirm about before breaking into the album’s arguably most brutal song. This track is also the most vocally unique on Idol, featuring a spoken word section in its central portion, during which the lyrics suggest it may be “better to dwell in the void than ache with torment for even the most fleeting juncture,” a sardonic statement espousing the idea that perhaps shutting oneself off from the world will only increase the pain and disillusionment felt by so many in today’s day and age.

 

The sixth song, entitled Devotion (Blood for Ink), is my personal favorite of the record.  I consider it to be Idol’s major highlight for two major reasons: firstly, it exhibits the most range of any single track on an album already displaying incredible diversity, and secondly because it perfectly captures Horrendous’s ability to strike that tremendous balance between a faithful tribute to the classic OSDM sound and a modern, progressive sound all its own.  The track begins with a fast-paced, thrash-influenced riff that is undoubtedly the most old-school moment on the entire album.  However, from there it transitions directly into a melodic, mellow mid-section that features the most prominent clean vocals on record, shining the spotlight on a beautifully sung melody embellished with vocal harmonies.  It then builds in intensity to a massive bout of guitar solos, with Knox and Herring battling it out for the remainder of the song as it fades into the seventh track, a transitionary piece entitled Threnody.  If I was not already completely, utterly sold on Idol’s majesty by this point, Threnody won me over.  After thirty minutes of high tempo, pulse-pounding riffs and epic rhythmic labyrinths, Horrendous provides the listener with two and a half well-deserved minutes of reprieve with a somber, melancholic instrumental before launching into the grandiose onslaught of the final track.  Reminiscent of a cut off My Arms, Your Hearse but with the added use of synthesized ambience, Threnody is an immaculate demonstration of Idol’s maturity.  Its foreboding melody builds directly into Obolus, the eighth and final track on Idol, and also its longest.  The atmospheric momentum of Threnody is maintained into the first several minutes of Obolus, as it proceeds at a slower, albeit still diabolically brutal pace, with a call and response vocal exchange trading sorrowful, tormented melodic lines with savage, grating yowls.  As the track proceeds, it grows increasingly chaotic and frantic until, around five minutes in, Horrendous unleashes an epic breakdown that slams the listener into the floor, beginning with tremolo guitar lines and whirling drum fills that transition into a more doom-oriented version of the riff as a tortured, soaring wail rings out high above the chaos below.  Thus, we have reached Idol’s conclusion.

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Despite the incredible cyclone of varying influences, techniques, and strategies Horrendous employs on this album, its overall sound is catchy, cohesive, and – above all – focused.  Its concept is immaculately executed, with each and every element – the music, the lyrics, the thematic ideas, and the artistry – coalescing into an end result that is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.   Idol is a highly cerebral undertaking, yet it is never technical for technicality’s sake; indeed, its more intricate moments are utilized to convey its thematic meaning rather than to impress its audience.  A key element that sets Horrendous apart from many of their contemporaries is that, although they grow undeniably more progressive with every record, they are not self-labeled as such.  Rather than overstuffing their compositions with bizarre chord changes or attempting to bewilder the listener with noodle-induced psychosis, they strive instead to create compelling, cohesive works that convey a brutal, savage, but ultimately human aesthetic.  Horrendous displays a rare philosophy, one largely in line with the original mission of death metal: not to create the heaviest, fastest music possible, but rather to push extreme metal past its old limits into a compelling, challenging realm of new possibilities.

 

In conclusion, Idol is an achievement of unrivaled style and panache.  It features truly incredible songwriting, tone, musicianship, and execution, and offers death metal fans with a much-needed break from pointless chugging, tired breakdowns, and the all-too-ubiquitous bass pedal trigger.  The only complaint I can muster is that the record was, in fact, too short; however, the relatively restrained length left me thirsting for more rather than feeling being bored or exhausted by an overly long run time.  Horrendous has demonstrated wisdom in electing not to bite off more than they could chew, choosing to perfect each of Idol’s eight tracks rather than pump out ten or more.  The result is an album in which each song is unique and intriguing – not a single one overstays its welcome.  Horrendous has delivered one of the most undeniably fresh takes on progressive death metal of 2018, leaving listeners truly blown away and wondering what’s in store for such a talented group.

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FINAL SCORE:  9/10

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Idol will be released via Season of Mist on September 28th.  The album can be pre-ordered here, or streamed in full on Youtube or Bandcamp.

 

You can catch Horrendous on their upcoming Northeast tour with Tomb Mold and Daeva, kicking off in Worcester, MA on November 8th.
 

Check them out now via their Facebook, Instagram, or Bandcamp page.

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