Ecdysis

Ever get the feeling that death metal bands are running out of titles? Me neither. As ''Ecdysis'' plainly suggests, it's purpose is to implement the evolutionary step that Horrendous, who with 2012's ''The Chills'' literally perked up goosebumps on my spine, like all of its counterparts, wants to take. The age is brave one, and novelty almost always, even if unwittingly, finds its way to some kind of success. That said, Horrendous didn't necessarily use innovation as a method to boost its way to the top records of 2012 when ''The Chills'' kicked more unkempt bottoms than most records that year. Its leprous voracity and atmospheric beauty was a surefire way to revitalize the gradually diminishing foray of old school death metal, but in reality, once you dig into it, putting aside the splendidly ominous atmosphere and olfactory goodness that it somehow projected behind a miraculous slew of riffage, ''The Chills'' is sheer bones and rotten flesh. So then is ''Ecdysis'' some sort of mega-transition? The ''Heartwork'' of Horrendous? Not necessarily. What seems to be the case here is the same kind of semi-evolutionary phase that bands like Morbus Chron and Tribulation aspired to with their most recent offerings.

For starters, Horrendous is a lot cleaner with their performance here; more manic, controlled and accessibly modern in contrast to the cavernous kaleidoscope of antiquity that was the main motif on the previous record. Yes, modernization does equate for a wider audience and perhaps a sharper overall sound, yet even during some of the stronger tracks I felt that clarity did not compensate for the lack of atmosphere, instead heralding an odd, even experimental approach with multitudinous progressive metal predilections. If it makes you feel any better, even the bass has risen from the primordial ooze into something that's incredibly audible in contrast. It's interesting enough to see a band of such primitive origin evolve from its putrid miasma into something far more accessible, yet, as said, this brings a few problems on the table. The absurdly implemented piecemeal conventions that engulf the record reduce the album's level grit to one far below its predecessor, and the focal point of old school death metal - the undying axiom - which is basically the maxim of ''if it's broke don't fix it'', seems to have dissipated to ''if it's broke, then shed some skin''. Hence Ecdysis.

Don't me wrong, folks, Horrendous is still throwing huge, gnarly hooks, but there is an intense infatuation with melody and progressive elements that churns and diverts the music away from its previous state of gory putrescence. There are some unbelievably melodic and beautiful solos here, often leads that crawl discreetly into the hibernating core of the record, strings of somber, yet graceful melodies twisting and swerving up and down the guitar board, redolent of some mid 90's English death/doom powerhouse. If all of my prior implications didn't get through, get this: if you think ''The Chills'' was brooding, wait until you hear ''Ecdysis''. There is an odd disparity here because it seems almost uncertain what direction they are taking with the mournful overtone that they're harboring. On one hand, you have majestic, even epic, melodic death/doom paradigms like the ending, ''Titan'' which resonates with the lovely, hauntingly elegiac tone of the vocalist's torturous growls and a set of backup choruses, and on the other you have absolutely devastating, flesh-ripping beaters like ''Weeping Relic'' that smash through your skull with the sublime grit of the chainsaw guitar tone. Though the overall sound is indubitably dolorous, Horrendous challenges the boundaries of pain and agony by expanding their style to the widest net possible. This is a brazen, even obsequiously open minded gesture in the face of thousands of Swedeath and Autopsy drones who stalk the market shallowly, and it is a pleasing result considering it is what Morbus Chron and Tribulation did, being two revivalist death metal giants themselves.

There are some truly great tracks here. The opener, ''The Stranger'' may seem like a run-down attempt at combining death/doom, Swedish death metal and melodic death metal, but towards the end it grows to bountifully full of riffs and reckless abandon that it even compensates for its lengthy run time. Every track, no matter how dedicated to the art of tearing limb from limb, serves as a paean to mood and versatility in style, eventually burgeoning into something despondent. Even the flashy 2-minute rock n' roll throwback ''When The Walls Fell'' is cool. There are still tremolos, or semi-technical guitar twists here and there, even an occasional thrashy exuberance, like on ''Heaven's Deceit'', but it's apparent that the band has shaken off most of its leaves of the olden arts. If anything, Horrendous is still a huge fucking Pestilence fan. That much is evident from the maniacal, Martin Van Drunnen vocals that pervade the record, or even the kinetic melodies gyrating throughout, but it's almost as if there is a transition in influence from ''Consuming Impulse'' and ''Malleus Maleficarum'' era Pestilence to Pestilence a la ''Testimony of the Ancients'' or ''Spheres''. In the end, ''Ecdysis'' becomes quite a mercurial album. It's difficult for me to imply stuff directly, but in essence, I have done my best to some it up. My gripe was that I simply didn't feel the sort of brilliant, carnal tenacity that was displayed on ''The Chills''. Maybe that was the perfect caterpillar, and ''Ecdysis'' the crossover record, the butterfly slowly, but not yet surely, breaking free of its cocoon, waiting to emerge into the perfect butterfly. If that is the case, folks, then we may have something even better than ''The Chills'' in store. Let the little hatch.

Highlights:
The Stranger
Weeping Relic
Nepenthe
Titan

http://laceratedthrashmetal.blogspot.com/

The debut album of this American trio (East Coast) The Chills was pretty good but I thought Horrendous was lacking something necessary to distinguish themselves from the impressive wave of old school death metal bands. With their second full length, a brilliant tour de force, they'll gain an enviable position on the worldwide metal map or at least, gain an immeasurable dose of respect!

The thrashy side of Horrendous has mostly disappeared and to take its place, the band has integrated an healthy quantity of Swedish melodic death metal (think of Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery or early At the Gates) with their emotional but complex guitar leads and their growled, deep but appreciable vocals. Yes, their sound might be more accessible but it's not a marketing scheme to gain the fan base of Arch Enemy or the likes, it's simply a more illustrious sound akin to the psychedelic progression of the modern Swedish tenors of Tribulation and Morbus Chron.

So, yes a progressive death metal that is widely psychedelic could scare some purists but I think their new formula had a very mild transformation. We were already able to hear some tendencies on their debut album but here, they're revealed for everyone to see. Let's elaborate on the ingredients the musicians used to cook us Ecdysis (this term means the sloughing of skin of Arthropod and the likes.) Ok, man, not really appetizing, sorry for this metaphor!

Firstly, the meager addition of clean vocals (listen to “Nepenthe”) adds a wonderful side to the band and it's definitely an aspect I'd like them to explore thoroughly. It always seem that they're into this big occult rock trend of the last decade or so. Anyway, 99% of the time, their vocals are of primitive death metal delivery kind (think of Morbid Angel or Deceased) and they fucking rock.

Secondly, their compositions contain (mixed with the Gothenburg influence) some fusion touches à la Focus (the Cynic album, obviously) or even some Atheist. The two progressive death giants are really present here! Listen to “Pavor Nocturnus” and check out these old school Paul Masvidal inspired riffs!

Thirdly, we have two instrumental interludes and they made me lose my composure a little. They serve as little haven of peace between the hard hittin' moments of the album. The first one “The Vermillion” reminded me of Opeth (remember “Requiem” or “Patterns in the Ivy”) and the second “When the Walls Fell” is pretty much a heavy metal piece garnished with a juicy guitar solo.

Nevertheless, don't be scared, it's still an extreme metal offering. The tempos are fast but Horrendous aren't afraid of slowing things down and offer heavy riffs (see “Resonator”). It's still a band with a very solid death metal core and their evolution hasn't toned down their essence that much yet. In my opinion, they added the right amount of new stuff to make an almost perfect album.

It's high caliber material and it's really goddamn fresh, I'm pretty sure it will become a classic in the decade to come like most of what Dark Descent Records is releasing nowadays. They're choosing the best of black and death has to offer. The 43 minutes album (the optimal length of a death metal album) has its fair share of memorable tracks but let's use “The Stranger” as its best cut, the first song on the album could almost be considered death/doom if I stretch my genre classification a little. The production is wise (clean or rough at the appropriate moments), the bass and the drums are subtle but grasping and the guitars are alternating between fruity & clear and vicious and visceral.

An essential album and a big surprise for 2014 which is without a doubt a great year for death metal with the releases of excellent albums by Teitanblood, Domains and Incantation.

Metantoine's Magickal Realm

I have a tendency to lavish incredibly huge expectations upon the sophomore outings of promising newcomers in the thrash, death and black metal mediums, which is probably not the fairest way to approach them...so when I saw the cover and read the buzz for the second Horrendous full-length, the high bar they had set with The Chills became an ever looming presence. Easily one of the better of the retro death metal records hailing from the States in the past decade, that album took everything I loved about luminaries like Death, Pestilence and Obituary and re-engineered the formula just enough that it could feel fresh again, while standing out against the hordes of Swedish sound-a-likes and overhyped cavern core elite that had been well on their way to exhausting me by 2012...not that both crowds didn't produce their own brilliant offspring, but they just never gave me the same amount of hope that this reach back to the roots of the genre was much more than mere idol worship; no, this was retracing death metal in order that it might strike out on a path where the songs mattered a lot more than the aesthetics.

Ecdysis is a symbolic title, since it represents a shedding of exoskeleton and 'skin', something the trio have clearly done for this new material. It's not that Horrendous have flipped the script to the point of becoming unrecognizable from the earlier work, but the sophomore is imbued with this dynamic, death & roll sensibility that fully represents their ability to harmonize the melodies and bust out the beautifully tempered leads, against a backdrop that is slightly more groovy and rocking than the more death/thrash foundation upon which the former full-length was built. Again, the production is given a rawer than expected treatment, with the guitar tones slightly reminiscent of the Swedish school but disparate due to how Herring and Knox compose the riffs together. I know the comparison might elude some, but try imagine if you were to mix a more melodic analog of Clandestine with the eloquent, emotional soloing of Andy La Rocque during the King Diamond hot streak of the late 80s, and then a bit of that clinical progressive Death which took off the following decade, especially the bass playing and meandering but adventurous nature of some of the rhythm guitar progressions. Only unlike Schuldiner's work, this doesn't go for that absurd level of production polish. Anyway, if you can imagine that mashup, you'll arrive at what this album creates. Does that sound fucking great?

Well it is, not to the degree that it trumped The Chills for me, but established Horrendous as a persistent forerunner in the 'real death metal' category that also includes bands like Tribulation, Morbus Chron, Binah, Lantern, The Wakedead Gathering and Necrovation, songwriters all, driven by where the music is going just as much as where it's been (which too many like-minded bands get hung up on). While they're by no means 'technical death' as the term implies in today's market, the level of proficiency here never falters behind the morbidity of the medium, these guys can play and they let you know through the sheer versatility of rhythms being fired out in any given tune. The vocals are still a more resonant, rasp-heavy and gruesome product of Chuck Schuldiner and Martin van Drunen influence, and the bass guitars also warrant added attention, since they don't just follow along subserviently to the rhythm guitar notes. The drums are slappy, snappy and natural, and what's more, they don't shy away from throwing you a very 80s' sort of curve ball like the wonderful acoustics of "The Vermillion" or the more speed/heavy metal licks of the second instrumental, "When the Walls Fell", which took me entirely by surprise amongst its more malevolent neighbors while sharing that subsistence on strong lead work and RIFFS FUCKING FIRST.

If The Chills didn't put Horrendous on everyone's map, then I really hope this Ecdysis will not only serve that function but encourage those that missed the debut to explore that too; it was a little more 'evil' sounding to me than this follow-up, but the tradeoff is that this material seems a little more adventurous and busy, even though the two share a level of accessibility you won't get with the more subterranean, clamorous strain of death metal molded in the image of Incantation and Immolation. Great album, I've been revisiting it regularly since the press promo started circulating and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com