Formed in 2009 by guitarist/vocalist Matt Knox, his elder brother, drummer Jamie Knox, and guitarist/co-vocalist Damian Herring, the trio of university students decided to reinvigorate the Death Metal scene by taking elements of the differing US and European styles and fusing them together. Writing and recording the Sweet Blasphemies demo the same year, the band took their time, got themselves a record deal, and in 2012 released their full-length debut The Chills (Dark Descent).

Becoming more technically minded, the band’s approach became a little more sophisticated on the 2014 follow-up Ecdysis, and after relocating the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, their third album, 2015’s Anareta (both Dark Descent Records) showed even greater signs of progression. With the younger Knox brother having handled all bass duties on previous releases, in 2016 the band recruited four-stringer Alex Kulick to strengthen the line-up and recorded as a quartet for the first time, latest album Idol (Season of Mist) being the result.

Moody intro ‘Prescience’ opens proceedings, the new bassist already happily showing off his chops, while first track proper, ‘Soothsayer’, with its vicious strangled vocals, spindly, jagged riffs and fine soloing is a perfect indication of what’s to come over the next forty minutes or so. ‘The Idolater’ opens gently with Kulick’s bass talents once again taking the spotlight before everything comes to a dead stop before settling into a nice, tidy groove peppered with frantic bursts of energy and hectic guitar solos.

Different time signatures, changes of tempo, and complex structuring are all standard for Horrendous by now, but ‘Golgothan Tongues’ and ‘Divine Anhedonia’ add strong surges of melody and groove. Arguably the highlight of the record, ‘Devotion (Blood for Ink)’ goes for the throat straight away with short, sharp stabbing riffs and a chaotic middle section before easing up on the heaviness and shifting into full-blown prog territory complete with almost Devin Townsend style clean vocals. ‘Threnody’ is a nicely played bit of guitar filler before eight and a half-minute closer ‘Obolus’ sees out the album in appropriately complex and technical style.

Although not a huge leap from Anareta, Idol remains a good distance away from their first two releases, so still probably enough for listeners who jumped ship at the band’s more pronounced prog stylings to justify staying away. However, with impressive dual vocals, a sound often reminiscent of the more fanciful side of latter-day Death, (not to mention the Steve Di Giorgio-esque bass noodlings), plus the band moving to a more prominent label, everything points to interest from a much wider audience anyway.

Horrendous by name, but definitely not by nature.

7.5/10

GARY ALCOCK