Chaos, Bringer of All Revelations

Hailing from the same land as fellow brutalizers Krisiun, Horned God unleash this suprise shocker upon the metal community.

Begining with a near Behemoth-esque instrumental opening, the album begins with a crescendo leading up to the eruption of the first track. A brutal blast beat right from the outset, the first full length song, entitled War Goes On, holds nothing back. The riffage sounds almost eastern in it's influence, with a drummer that never stops for a rest.

The vocal work on this album reminiscent of something from the Florida death metal scene (think HatePlow or Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel). The enunciation is not perfect, so most of the lyrics are not apparent right away. The voice work isn't overpowering though, which is always a good thing.

Sheathed Sword is probably one of the most brutal tracks on the album, with an incessant blast beat behind a muted tremelo riff thats insanely fast and brutal. Reminds me of the begining of one of Krisiun's albums.

Another band brought to mind by Horned God is the ever popular Luciferion (who?). The by-fans, for-fans mentality, attention to detail and impressive if not innovative guitar work is all very similar to Luciferion's work in the mid-90s. The difference- Luciferion's solos sacrificed a lot of brutality for melody in some of their songs, a mistake Horned God never makes.

Satan Isn't the Enemy of Men, while admitedly rather lengthy in title, is my personal favorite. Great riffing, pin-point accuracy and humming-bird level trem picking make this one hard to miss.

An overall wonderful album, those burned out on the Florida or South American death metal scene may not be too impressed. Far from the most original, this album is one of the more complete death metal releases I've heard in a while and should be at least heard by all fans of the genre.