Band:	Horrendous
Album:	Ontological Mysterium
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	August 2023

01. The Blaze
02. Chrysopoeia (The Archaeology Of Dawn)
03. Neon Leviathan
04. Aurora Neoterica
05. Preterition Hymn
06. Cult Of Shaad'oah
07. Exeg(en)esis
08. Ontological Mysterium
09. The Death Knell Ringeth

It’s crazy to think that it’s now been over a decade since Horrendous first came onto the scene with The Chills; it was 2014’s Ecdysis, the record that saw them first advance from humble OSDM-esque beginnings towards something a bit more peculiar and unique, that introduced me to the group, but the band that were once the hot new thing in death metal have now grown into seasoned veterans, and Ontological Mysterium is a solid reflection of that maturation.

Ecdysis, while still sharing plenty of the debut’s old-school death metal DNA, was an early indicator of how Horrendous would evolve and distinguish themselves in the extreme metal scene. First tech-death, and later (particularly with Idol) progressive death metal, have increasingly integrated themselves within the band’s musical foundation. However, unlike so many tech-death groups, they’d never forgotten the innate appeal of well-done primal old-school riffery, and unlike many extreme prog groups, they’d refrained from overly polishing the production and losing that classic-sounding roughness around the edges. As a result, Horrendous have managed to stand mostly by themselves, particularly as former adventurous death metal contemporaries disbanded (Morbus Chron) or shifted their focus elsewhere (Tribulation). Now, after a 5-year absence, the group have returned to remind people why their name has come to carry so much weight.

Ontological Mysterium, which comes after an interval between releases almost as long as the time window in which all four previous Horrendous records were unleashed, is a logical continuation of the trajectory the band were on prior to said gap, while also seeing the group venture slightly into newer territory. The album’s production is cleaner than previous releases, which fits logically with a continued decrease in the prominence of classic death metal across the album; buzzsaws feel a distant memory during the triumphant guitar leads of intro piece “The Blaze” and then “Chrysopoeia (The Archaeology Of Dawn)”, whose first half’s upbeat riffs and subtle clean vocals lie closer to melodeath than OSDM, and which subsequently evolves into something more quintessentially progressive in its second half. Still, there are gnarlier riffs to be encountered on Ontological Mysterium, including the fierce “Cult Of Shaad’oah” and multi-faceted closer “The Death Knell Ringeth”, which has doomy, technical and groovy components to it.

As mentioned early, Horrendous is an adventurous group, and there’s quite a few different directions they go in on this new album. On the one hand, you have “Neon Leviathan”, which has a classic speed metal drumbeat above which they unleash instrumental madness that feels like a twisted, contorted re-envisioning of such retro rowdiness through a oddball tech-death lens. Then, right after, the group fully embrace their prog influences with the melodic instrumental “Aurora Neoterica”, as Cynic-esque bass warbles beneath serene guitar textures; robo-vocalled “Exeg(en)esis” later in the album feels like an evil sibling to “Aurora Neoterica”, retaining some of that Cynical celestial prog energy while ramping up the intensity. There’s also more dabblings with clean vocals and melodic guitar textures on centrepiece “Preterition Hymn”, a decidedly unhurried song that recaptures some of the doominess once encountered on Ecdysis.

Horrendous have clearly aimed to demonstrate the full range of their capabilities here, and in efficient manner too, what with this being their shortest album yet (although, like all their albums, the total runtime still lies pretty close to the 40-minute mark). As to how it stacks up to previous releases... I do have to admit, as good as I think the album is, it’s not one that inherently draws my attention. Outside of “Chrysopoeia” and “Aurora Neoterica”, the only song that’s truly made an impact on me is the title track, which features some properly tasty riffs of different styles assembled in very satisfying manner. Three great songs is certainly not to be sniffed at, but I do feel like I’m having to force myself a bit too much to engage with Ontological Mysterium for me to consider it at quite the same level that I did the likes of Ecdysis and Anareta when they came out.

Despite this, Ontological Mysterium is a welcome return from one of the leading lights in modern death metal, and an intriguing extension of their previous experiments with technical, progressive and unpredictable writing. If you’ve not previously acquainted yourself with the beast that is Horrendous, this is a perfectly good place to start.