Album Review: Horrifier - Horrid Resurrection
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Coming round to the final batch of releases this year throws our way, we’ve come to Norway’s Horrifier as they prepare to unveil their first full length record, slated for a December 15th window. Formed only last year in 2022, Horrifier are utterly awash in a sea of extremity given the fame of the multitudinous names that call the region of Scandinavia their home, but already they’ve released a Demo and a Split alongside Vile Apparition, Goredawn, Constant Torment and more. Having released their Single, Sadistic Impalement, just back in September, Horrifier are ready to release Horrid Resurrection for a mid-December launch to end the year off. There weren’t many December records that piqued my curiosity yet Horrid Resurrection were one of them so, releasing via Personal Records, let’s see what Horrifier can promise us.
Where we’ve had death metal bands that have championed the grittier, less refined form of production, Horrifier offer a stance that’s the complete opposite. Horrid Resurrection, as an album, is extremely well produced and frankly isn’t what I expected. However, simply because a band opt for a cleaner production doesn’t indicate lesser quality for Horrifier absolutely know how to bring the power from themselves over to us. While their record is far more polished than your typical extreme metal record, the riffs and vocals and songwriting possess a finesse that demonstrates keen time and energy applied to its crafting. The way the band manage to balance everything together so neatly in the mix, when their differing elements are coming us with such visceral force is to be commended. As a result, Horrifier are effectively bringing the qualities usually found in a speed metal record and implementing them within a death metal sphere.
The riffs, and the general guitar work, seems to strike us as hard as it does because, I believe, it’s replicating an acutely live aesthetic that’s frankly difficult to translate into record. It’s a tricky thing to pull off within the mix too, for it requires your guitars to be at the forefront of your band’s performance and yet not overtly dominate the rest of the songwriting nor the overall experience the listener has. It’s additionally aided by the fact that the band opted for a more slicing, carving guitar tone than merely hammering their audience down with cinderblocks and crushing tone; it thereby gives us that alleviation in the production to really pay attention and enjoy the delicious malignance their riffs clearly impart. The soloing is also of the same quality but while the band showcase their prominence for speed, some of the more ear-catching and juicier licks emanate when the pacing is slowed, giving their guitarist time to really ooze out some of the more morbid pieces.
I think it’s within the drumming the band show the benefits of a lighter production through their record. Now, the drumming is far from anything you will have heard before, utilising blast beats, bass drums and, in places, some very straightforward 4/4 drumming patterns, but it’s when you throw in the sadistic offerings of riffs and heinous vocals that the drums seem to shed light on what makes this record shine. Not only is Horrid Resurrection nicely cleaned where its exterior has feasibly little to zero bumps or ruptures to its surface, but it’s a remarkably light album. If thrown in the air, one could envision the vinyl freely floating to the ground as a feather, with hardly a shred of tonnage behind its weight. That’s what helps this album come across with incredible ease as a piece that can put on without thinking how long or heavy it’ll be, since the band have ensured the listening experience is seamless as breathing. We know the drums are imbuing the record with crisp timbre and blast beats that strike cleanly off the taut skin but it never becomes a bore for us.
One of the most understated things going for this record are the vocals. In an album that’s bristling with instrumental, and songwriting, quality, we may forget to throw attention upon the vocal delivery, one that’s certainly apart from the myriad of gruff and baritone performances this year has slung our way. In a performance greatly reminiscent of the great Martin Van Drunen, the vocals herein are these warped yet strained utterances that, while exuding vast power our way, possess a secondary strength when their vocalist simply lets syllables stretch out longer than other frontmen typically would. Considering their vocalist has only this album and another Demo as a vocal credit is astonishing, as one must commend his control regarding his performance. This is a vocal style that could very easily be needlessly over exaggerated but their frontman has made sure to keep things grounded and under control. If this is what he’s able to pull off throughout just this record, I’m very excited for what he does in the future.
In conclusion, I think people really ought to wait on writing up their top albums of the year until they’ve checked Horrid Resurrection out in full first. For a band putting out their first full length work, this is an absolutely amazing record that not only demonstrates the band’s influences but also how their songwriting truly stems them away from the rest of the crowd. I imagine a minute few may not want to delve too deeply into this work because, admittedly, it’s far from the most crushing thing this year has produced but the songwriting and instrumental prowess and craft on display is incredible. Their closing, self-titled piece is simply astonishing, for Horrifier fully put on show their capacity for melodic songwriting, oozing these deathly Dissection-inspired riffs, simplified to a surprising degree, climaxing their record in a way few in 2023 have managed to land the mark. Writing great death metal is far from easy but it comes from Horrifier naturally as blood from the body, and therefore I’m ecstatic for what these guys do in their future. Horrifier, a band to watch out for.
