The debut album of this USA based trio was truly a jewel. A fantastic piece of evil Death Metal with melody and intensity that really caught many off guard. They sounded to me like if “Left Hand Path” crossed with “Scream Bloody Gore” with a great musicianship, killer solos and agonizing vocals. Such a strong debut album was hard to top. Their next release “Ecdysis” proved to be quite different in a few deatils. The core of their sound was there, yet they took a more technical approach, more complex in a way, experimenting wth cleaner passages, and some sort of progressive touches that reminds of CYNIC and later era DEATH. It took a while for some people to click, but it was also an obvious piece of art in a different mode. What was the point in repeating the same? Well, that is true, some people are always wanting to hear more of the same, whilst others are also hoping for the sound of a band to expand, and in both cases hoping for the band not to betray their essence. It was the time when bands like TRIBULATION, NECROVATION, DEGIAL and MORBUS CHRON were releasing albums incorporating some ideas more akin to traditional Rock and progressive music rathen than Death Metal, but yet mantaining the aura of darkness they all have been known for. Well, for the third strike, HORRENDOUS have done somewhat of a perfect match of their two albums, and again released a monster of an album, which even if I am telling you it has things from both their previous full lengths, it has a sound of its own, perhaps a tiny bit more leaning to the sound of the second album. Production-wise it has a great guitar tone, and has some very vicious vocals, whilst at the same time showing some great musicianship. It still has some intricate compositions, but they have created them in a way it all sounds smooth and natural and not like an exhibition. At times, they gave me an aura similar to that of CORONER with some riffs that remind me of DISSECTION and even I can sense a nod to early VIO-LENCE. It is that kind of album that every time you listen to it you will find new things. And every time it seems the music will go for a lighter approach, they inject venom to it. Darkness and fury in such a finesse, that it seems unreal… just take a song like ‘Acolytes’… it sums all the power and macabre beauty of this kind of Death Metal. Top contender for album of the year. www.facebook.com/horrendousdeathmetal, www.darkdescentrecords.com