Album Review: Horrid Mass – Nauseating Ecstatic Degeneration
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
You only have to look at what the band and album are called to know that what you are about to listen to is going to make your ears bleed, and I’m happy to report that Milwaukee’s finest have produced something worthy of their name. Formed in 2022, the trio consists of Nick Lewis (Bass & vocals) alongside guitarist Tony Capadilupo and drummer Spencer Powers, and they’ve unleashed merry hell with their debut album.
Following on from their 2023 EP “Formless Dread”, they have crafted eight new songs in total, beginning with “Worthless Mote” as they forge a well-trodden path of bludgeoning and atmospheric blackened death metal. There are no airs and graces, no excuses, just heads down hostility from start to finish, as the trio experiment and push the boundaries further on the opening track and you get the expected rush from the sheer brutality of the music.
There’s a slow, menacing build on the next song “Writhe” before the vociferous vocals explode over the crushing and truly mental drum sound. The bass line does come through here alongside the melody, but it doesn’t hide the fearsome nature of their overall sound. “Execration” is the longest of the tracks, at nearly 7 minutes, and they create a nervous tension around the narrative, with terrifying guitars and severe vocals. If you want a song to turn up loud and scare the neighbour’s with, then this will do just fine.
You are then hit with two shorter tracks, “S.H.E.D” and “Cruelty” of which the former should end up on some sort of psychological thriller soundtrack as it leaves more to your imagination than it probably should due its chilling content. “Loathsome” sees them return to the longer format with another intimidating piece of music, as it’s initially slow and ominous but has elements where the trio just go crazy and more severe.
The band were aiming for “a total descent into filth, chaos and sonic ruin” and they’ve achieved that with great aplomb, typified by the unsavoury “Violent Ascent” which is my favourite track on the album. The riffs are sinister, the vocals are vile and the drums are dramatic, to create a darkened ambience that will stay forever, as they end with “Congregate” which starts passively, lulling you into a false sense of security, before their primitive, barbaric sound takes over to complete the aural attack.
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