Horrifier – Revelations of Gore (Death by a Thousand Cuts Norwegian Death Metal)
I remember all those years ago (a total of three) when I first heard Norway’s Horrifier. Messy as hell, with a pestilent bite to remind you to stay on guard. I didn’t feel entirely zombified by it, in fact it was almost overdriven to the point of bubbling noise at parts, but I observed from the sidelines, quietly waiting for what came next, and expecting the best. And here it is, before us. Never before I have seen such evolution, never before such growth! Actually, that’s a lie, but still, their latest, Revelations of Gore, is a goddamn paradigm shift. And a much needed one.
Previously taking the old school death metal approach, Horrifier have expanded their territory, staking claim on perhaps a new direction for the genre. Revelations of Gore never ceased to amaze me. It’s one of those releases that appears to set its own standard, intent on sticking with form, but in this case, fuck, I had no idea what was coming next. This isn’t to say they experiment and twist your mind into so many knots, it’s rather that they take rather novel approaches. Their previously overburdened old school is now quite new school, with higher production, creating a death by a thousand cuts listen, but each track is its own novella as part of an overreaching set of themes; arcane sorcery, shrieking, wailing ghosts, blasphemous ritualism, and the like, abound. Yet it’s not consistent in that one track reflects another. They reflect only in the sense that the sound remains a specific, old school level of scuzz just above noise, but distinct due to the finer details. The more unique you are these days, the more you call attention, and these guys are an expose, bleached skeleton that reveals a long-forgotten mass grave. Keep digging, you’ll find pleasure in the death they bring.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Horrifier – Revelations of Gore
Personal Records
Cover Art: Ingrid Helland
4.6 / 5
