Band:	Cadaveria
Album:	Horror Metal
Style:	Avantgarde metal, Symphonic metal
Release date:	January 31, 2012
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Flowers In Fire
02. The Night's Theatre
03. Death Vision
04. Whispers Of Sin
05. Assassin
06. The Days Of The After And Behind
07. Apocalypse
08. The Oracle (Of The Fog)
09. Requiem
10. This Is Not The Silence
11. Hypnotic Psychosis

Good lord, take a look at that cover art, would you? What a hideous picture to put as your cover. Ramping up for a negative review based on the cover art just didn't work out, these guys defied my expectations with something that isn't all that embarrassing, if not somewhat enjoyable between the excruciatingly boring moments.

When looking at some of the feedback for previous albums from Cadaveria, it's hard to believe I'm listening to the same band. I keep trying to find the "avantgarde" here, but it's nowhere to be found. It's not that this album is boring because it failed to fit into an expected sound of some kind, it's a boring album because it's horribly recycled. Horror Metal is nothing new, just a simple form of black metal somewhere along the lines of Dark Fortress. In other words, easily digestible riffing - by black metal standards - with a pretty strong emphasis on head-bobbing rhythms. Top everything off with some raspy-to-clean dual vocals, and what you've got is nothing new, nothing offensive, nothing memorable.

It's really difficult to get excited about Horror Metal in one direction or another. On one hand, it's got its infectious rhythm section, topped with a few decent Dark Fortress or Belphegor inspired riffs here and there. On the other, there's really no punch to it. It's not melodic in a catchy, memorable sense, and it's not ferocious in an eye-popping manner. It's a flat album that just sits happily in its room-temperature bath tub.

Bored of reading this yet? Good, then you've come to understand the feelings this album evokes. Had Cadaveria taken a leap and created a musical failure as embarrassing as the cover photo, I might have some kind of obnoxious rant for you. Sorry to disappoint.