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Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium



8 | 160 votes |
Release date: 18 August 2023
Style: Death metal

Owners:

36 have it
8 want it


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

Additional info
Released via Season of Mist

Engineered, produced, mixed and mastered by Damian Herring at Subterranean Watchtower Studios.
Artwork by Alexander L. Brown.

Staff review by
musclassia
Rating:
8.0
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.

Read more ››
published 23.08.2023 | Comments (4)

Found in 37 lists
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Comments

Comments: 18   Visited by: 348 users
25.05.2023 - 06:49
Rating: 8
DarkWingedSoul
Yeeeees ! loved Idol !!!
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23.07.2023 - 14:30
Rating: 7
Cynic Metalhead
Paisa Vich Nasha
Oh fucking sweet.

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18.08.2023 - 17:46
Rating: 7
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
contributor
The structure as a whole took some getting into but it's decent album overall. The drumming is absolutely fantastic, and the lead guitar work is brilliant too, it's obviously crushingly heavy, but there's an atmospheric touch to it which I quite like. On a side note, the cover-art is great.
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19.08.2023 - 09:26
Rating: 7
Anghellic67
Written by AndyMetalFreak on 18.08.2023 at 17:46

The structure as a whole took some getting into but it's decent album overall. The drumming is absolutely fantastic, and the lead guitar work is brilliant too, it's obviously crushingly heavy, but there's an atmospheric touch to it which I quite like. On a side note, the cover-art is great.

I noticed the atmospheric touch too which made this much more interesting for me
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20.08.2023 - 17:09
Rating: 8
ChrisWinther94
I enjoyed this album, I’ll give it a few more spins. The riffs on this album plus the atmospheric parts are sick. The Death Knell Ringeth is one of the best Death Metal songs of this year so far!


———
Top 50 Albums of 2023
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22.08.2023 - 13:18
Rating: 7
LeKiwi
High Fist Prog
The barrage of grimy riffs on the title track remains the highlight after listening to the whole thing. It's a shame they didn't write more like that on the record.
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22.08.2023 - 14:44
Rating: 8
musclassia
staff
I wasn't that sure about the first proper song and the lack of flow in the riffing, but I really like the full-on melodic prog-death jamming of Aurora Neoterica

Edit: Not sure what I was listening to when I made that comment about Chrysopoeia here; it's probably the best song here and it flows really naturally across its various components
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22.08.2023 - 17:06
nikarg
staff
Upper tier death metal. It took me a few listens to properly sink in and realise how well-crafted this is.
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25.08.2023 - 03:42
Rating: 8
Guib
Thrash Talker
Well that is quite enjoyable. Very homogeneous album with tracks flowing into one another with ease and fluidity. Perhaps the only exception with the fade out on "Preterition Hymn" leading to "Cult Of Shaad'oah". I might be alone there but those 2 tracks gave me a serious feeling of Death's The Sound Of Perseverance. In any case I'm absolutely delighted that they kept pushing in this more progressive/technical direction. I'm a huge fan of this rather than sticking to a more OSDM vibe.

Also comparisons to Cynic made by musclassia's review are quite accurate. I would also say that it's hard to pick highlights, I feel it is a work that is better enjoyed as a whole. I mean the two tracks I name dropped earlier could probably be 2 of such because I really enjoyed them and I suppose they stood out more to me. I'd probably say "Neon Leviathan" is great and "The Death Knell Ringeth" is also a very good track and memorable way to end the album, except... Well... Stop the fade outs dang it. I'll let it slide this time .

Excellent album overall after those few initial spins.
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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26.08.2023 - 17:05
Rating: 9
ChapuLviz
Tropical Goat
contributor
This album has a refreshing punk influence under the obvious Death sound. I love it.
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23.10.2023 - 19:55
Rating: 8
Ansercanagicus
endangered bird
My problem with Horrendous is how each new album fails to grab my attention. I hear good music and talented musicians, I know it's good, I hear good death and good prog, but I'm unable to pay attention. It always falls to the background of my thoughts. I don't know why. The first albums had more death it in and I could stick with it. I sadly can't keep up with this record, I don't understand what it tries to say
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2024
2023
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16.01.2024 - 02:30
Rating: 7
datfish
Written by Ansercanagicus on 23.10.2023 at 19:55

My problem with Horrendous is how each new album fails to grab my attention. I hear good music and talented musicians, I know it's good, I hear good death and good prog, but I'm unable to pay attention. It always falls to the background of my thoughts. I don't know why. The first albums had more death it in and I could stick with it. I sadly can't keep up with this record, I don't understand what it tries to say


This happens to me a lot as well! Sometimes I think what it comes down to is simple. Logically we can know and distinguish between good and bad music, but music is something more. It's a vibration that either attunes with your soul or it does not. It either speaks to you, or it doesn't. You either like it or you don't - whether it's exceptionally well made music or not.
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23.01.2024 - 23:04
Rating: 9
Mastodon74
This Horrendous album seems spectacular to me. His previous works are good, but this one is excellent. It's very enjoyable, at least that's how I do it. The bass lines are crazy. Let's hope Horrendous exists for a long time!!!
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09.03.2024 - 13:06
Rating: 9
8bitsAgo
Nothing horrendous about this album. A true exploration in music with a death metal anchor. Overall however this is just really, damn good music. Every instrument has clearly been fine tuned and given space to roam within each song. Each track feels unique yet the album has a distinct character. There's a playfulness at work here that only happens when a groups of musicians find themselves masters f their craft and technique. Most of all I love this album for being mostly free from cliche. There a feeling of joy and boundlesness to this album that I just can't get enough of. Truly fantastic work.
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09.03.2024 - 13:08
Rating: 9
8bitsAgo
Written by Ansercanagicus on 23.10.2023 at 19:55

My problem with Horrendous is how each new album fails to grab my attention. I hear good music and talented musicians, I know it's good, I hear good death and good prog, but I'm unable to pay attention. It always falls to the background of my thoughts. I don't know why. The first albums had more death it in and I could stick with it. I sadly can't keep up with this record, I don't understand what it tries to say


Let it get under your skin and accept that it's unlike anything else.
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15.03.2024 - 06:57
Rating: 7
tintinb
This definitely was a good album. But I felt the same problem with this as a few listeners did, it just didn't speak to me that much. It sounded really really good in my speakers and my earphones while I am working but that's about it, it did not make me stop and notice which track I was listening to, and before I know it the album is over.
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Leeches everywhere.
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15.03.2024 - 07:11
Rating: 7
Cynic Metalhead
Paisa Vich Nasha
Written by tintinb on 15.03.2024 at 06:57

This definitely was a good album. But I felt the same problem with this as a few listeners did, it just didn't speak to me that much. It sounded really really good in my speakers and my earphones while I am working but that's about it, it did not make me stop and notice which track I was listening to, and before I know it the album is over.


I don't know what you mean here.

This album may not have gotten the accessibility like "Lost" or "Ecdysis", but it did contain some serious hits like Neon Leviathan, Hymn and Death Knell in closer. It swayed towards technical juncture, but as Andy said, it's crushingly heavy.
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15.03.2024 - 08:38
Rating: 7
tintinb
Written by Cynic Metalhead on 15.03.2024 at 07:11

Written by tintinb on 15.03.2024 at 06:57

This definitely was a good album. But I felt the same problem with this as a few listeners did, it just didn't speak to me that much. It sounded really really good in my speakers and my earphones while I am working but that's about it, it did not make me stop and notice which track I was listening to, and before I know it the album is over.


I don't know what you mean here.

This album may not have gotten the accessibility like "Lost" or "Ecdysis", but it did contain some serious hits like Neon Leviathan, Hymn and Death Knell in closer. It swayed towards technical juncture, but as Andy said, it's crushingly heavy.


I suppose I liked it but I didn't loouve it.To be fair I was listening to the latest Blood Red Throne after this and I really really liked it. That may have overshadowed my judgement a bit too.
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Leeches everywhere.
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