HORRENDOUS

Idol is the first album I've heard from Horrendous, but it's leaving me inclined to dip a little further into their discography. Apparently, they dial up the psychedelically-tinged progressive sides of their sounds here; what you get is a mixture of technically proficient, complex death metal, progressive song structures, and the occasional quieter, spacier moment - the short instrumental Threnody being perhaps the most sustained example of the latter.

Combined with lyrics which manage to be confrontational and compelling without being performatively edgy, this presents a thoughtful vision of death metal from the opening salvos all the way to the doomy album closer Obulus. In short, not horrendous at all - though I suppose "Very Good" isn't exactly a good band name.

I don't really like death metal much, honestly. So the fact that I kind of sort of maybe enjoy this is probably an achievement in itself. This new wave of death metal actually has some interest to me because of its consistent prog influence, more accessible production and less reliance on repetitive chug-offs. I can definitely tell why this is considered great for its genre, and there are even some Opethian bursts of melody that break the heavy monotone. But at the end of the day, it's death metal, with the same riffs, vocals and themes that do absolutely nothing for me on an emotional level. Maybe someday I'll understand.

5.3 (2nd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction