Band:	Horn Of The Rhino
Album:	Summoning Deliverance
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	August 26, 2014
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Awaiting The Scourge
02. Exvenhstench
03. Onward Through Domination
04. High Priest
05. Their Tombs
06. Deliverance Prayer
07. Drogg Öm Thraal
08. Grim Foreigners
09. Builder Of Carrion Effigies
10. An Excess Of Faith

Horn Of The Rhino have a special place in my heart as probably the one band that was most responsible for getting me into sludge. Three years ago when I was just a mindless n00b into little other than thrash and tech death, it was this Spanish trio that won me over with their bulldozing riffs and clever application of the "less is more" formula. Summoning Deliverance, the band's latest effort, is a stark reminder that although Horn Of The Rhino may be comparatively unknown within their style, they're definitely one of its more powerful bands.

Summoning Deliverance ultimately follows up on the more aggressive approach employed on the previous Grengus album, and is perhaps Horn Of The Rhino at their most furious yet. There's a notable extreme influence felt throughout the album, approaching more thrash/death metal structures, and some tracks, such as "Exvenstench" and "Their Tombs," are just downright violent. Thankfully though, the sludgey feeling is still retained above all else in the crunchy guitar tone, and there are a a few slower, groovier tracks as well.

And as usual, frontman Javier Galvez, probably the defining feature of the band, continues to amaze with his excellent pipes. Whether it's his relentless snarls during the music's intense moments, or his more relaxed cleans on "Onward Through Domination" and the totally epic "Deliverance Prayer," the man definitely knows how to deliver (see what I did there?), and further proves himself as one of the most potent vocalists sludge has to offer. The only issue I found here is that his clean vocals are really a bit underdeveloped on this album, and it would've been nice if they'd seen more prevalence, because they really are quite mindblowing.

All in all though, Summoning Deliverance stands as a pretty well accomplished album in Horn Of The Rhino's discography, even if it does offer up a slight change of pace for their sound. The music honestly leans more towards the more ruthless death/sludge mix, and thus fans of the riff heavy approach taken on Weight Of Coronation and earlier may be slightly disappointed. Nonetheless, the music is still unquestionably Horn Of The Rhino's, and these Spanish conquistadors don't appear to be losing their luster anytime soon.

Bitchin album art too

Go get crushed.