Album Review: Trog – Horrors Beyond
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Sometimes you see a band for the first time, and know there and then you have to check them out; such is the case with Trog and their debut full length work: Horrors Beyond. With striking artwork depicting a man’s melting face and a malevolent prehistoric creature, this was an instant attention-grabber for myself. The band formed in 2019 originally under the name of Troglorot, founded in New Jersey, United States, where they released their first EP, Cave Dweller, in the same year. Three years later however, the band would shorten their name to Trog and release their second EP: Of Vomit Reborn. Now, slated for a June 28th release date and released via independent means, Trog are set to unleash Horrors Beyond, their first full length work, upon the metal masses. I’m always curious when a band of this new wave of death metal release their first major works, and thus I went headfirst into Trog’s animalistic savagery.
Talk about presentation. Unlike other bands of their own ilk, Trog don’t merely thrust straight into the mania of things, but actually take a moment to slowly submerge us within this growing cacophony their sound conjures. So, by the time the first blast beats and poundings of riffs are underway you’re thoroughly accepting of where the band are taking you since they’ve invested time into you, and thus it can then work both ways. It also highlights the care the band took towards Horrors Beyond; this isn’t merely an album to them, but all the culminated work they’ve ever done with their time in Trog and therefore it’s all the more essential this record hits the home run. With the opening track alone, we get a firm understanding regarding their ethos towards songwriting, tone, tempo etc; though the band are playing death metal, it’s not a constant beating over the head as Trog delve back and forth in intensity. The band may bring the power in droves but Horrors Beyond understands the audience must breathe from time to time too.
With that said, Trog manage to balance pretty effectively an apparent, keen eye for songwriting and methodical playing, alongside an abundant wish to break out with wild abandon at every conceivable moment. You always feel like, in spite of the band’s immense control over their instrumentation and pacing, they could very easily break out with total madness upon their stage and wreck everything in their way. With wailing solos, divebombs and blistering blast beats, Trog showcase their love for unrestrained destruction. Yet, that insanity is only outlined so because of the band’s surprisingly mature take on songwriting; outsiders may view death metal as mindless havoc yet Trog are a living example as per the disciplined effort it takes to make extreme metal not only decipherable but seamless to follow. Though the band do play with frantic speed, their riffs don’t stay in one place for long as one riff sequence will soon be succeeded by another or the next planned phase of the track you’re listening to. Throw in an ability to change up tempo on the fly and you’ve music that respects your time spent with it. Trog may on the surface appear as another caveman-esque death metal act, but there’s an acutely intelligent approach to writing death metal here.
One of the more prominent features herein are the vocals, and while they initially feel little different to most extreme metal deliveries, they do in fact have a lot going for them. The obvious is they’re not only bellowing but reach towards guttural depths to give Horrors Beyond a particularly crushing edge. However many vocalists these days can submerge their vocals to great depths; what gives Trog an edge in this instance is the control and innate talent their frontman possesses, for as ruthless as his vocals are they never feel forced beyond their ability to convey the brutality this record harnesses. It often feels like Trog’s vocals could go that extra half of a step into the most savage bounds of vocal performances, but their frontman actively chooses not to because this is the range and timbre on record that works best for them as a band. It also feels like the best delivery by which control and discipline can still be inferred all the while he’s ripping out his hideous gutturals, especially during the longer sections where his roars can gutturally last up to ten seconds without difficulty or strain.
Something that may not strike at you until later into the record, is how clear everything feels to the listener. That’s not to say this is an especially clean record, not entirely, because there’s still a lot of grit and muck hiding beneath the album’s surface detail, but even with this taken into account everything the band do feels sharply outlined in bold ink as if drawing our attention to exactly what the band need us to experience. It also shows credit to the mixing too since every element of the band, from the bass to vocals to drums and such, blend together easily and without conflict so there’s push and pull effect happening in vying for your attention. You’re engaged at every possible chance and there’s little opportunity for your engagement to wander elsewhere since the band are constantly throwing plenty at you to raise your eyebrows. Though the band are playing at speed, and we’ve established their varying tempo, it means Trog are always changing up their flow of playing and thereby cancelling any negative results of only playing at one speed. It’s why their segmented songwriting is so effective too; the sharply defined sections showcase a well executed plan for each track, yet it’s not so obvious that it feels overly regimented. You come to understand how Trog have written this album, but it’s been done so well and it’s so organically devastating you can’t help but continue to bask in its design.
In conclusion, if anyone were to suggest death metal in 2024 had simply devolved into mindless noise then Trog’s Horrors Beyond is a bonafide landmine in the midst of that argument. For a band’s first full length album, capping things off with a nine minute track that not only feels justified but absolutely satisfying to end the record with, Trog have a near-offensively well written record. Though the band are yet young and don’t have many years under their belt, this album is a huge indicator where things may take them should they stay the course they’re currently on. There isn’t a weak track here whatsoever, and with only seven throughout Horrors Beyond’s runtime it ensures the potential for filler was completely nullified, reduced completely. The only material Trog included was killer, that was their plan and such is the result. Everything from instrumentation to songwriting to vocals, their pacing and shifting tempo, it all paints a picture that is this record and I can’t for the life of me pick out one considerable flaw with it. This is an outstanding full length debut and the greatest possible start for Trog should they be wishing to get underway with more full length material. Horrors Beyond is an absolutely sublime work of death metal that goes toe-to-toe with any heavily established legacy band in extreme metal, and I’ve got no issue naming this an Album Of The Year candidate. I haven’t experienced such a quality death metal debut since I first heard Outre-Tombre, Undeath, Tomb Mold for the first time. This is a band to watch out for.
