Horrified "Eternal God / Prophecy of Gore" vinyl LP

Reissue of Horrified "Eternal God 12" EP coupled with Horrified "Prophecy Of Gore" demo tape.
Edition of 500 copies: 350 on black vinyl Comes with insert.

Here we have Horrified's first vinyl in the form of a 12" MLP on Black Power Records. Black Power has put out some quality releases from Necromantia, Varathron and Septicemia and this MLP is no different. Two tracks of dark, atmospheric death metal released with a very cool cover and layout. If you've read my other Horrified reviews then you already know what this band is about. While they do have the trademark Greek elements to their music, Horrified love to experiment with different styles and techniques, resulting in an original blend of beauty and darkness that was ahead of its time.
The songs on this release were recorded sometime between the demo tape and "The Ancient Whisper..." EP, and it definitely shows. It's a vast improvement over the demo (especially in production), but still not at the creative musical peak of the 7". The sound on this vinyl is light years ahead of "Prophecy of Gore" in quality. All of the instruments have balanced out in the mix and everything is crisp and clear. The only problem I have with the production is the double bass. It's a bit too high in the mix and is frequently overused, most notably on the song "Eternal God". The vocals are better than those on the demo, but aren't very original and sound more like a higher-pitched growl. The female vocals that would later appear on the 7" are missing here, but it's probably for the better. I really don't think they would fit in with the structure of these songs.
After a petrifying intro piece titled "Beyond the Chaos", the title track opens. Right away the atmosphere is adorned by strings of haunting keyboards and impressive guitar leads. The dark melody briefly exits during some of the faster, thrash-beat sections of the song. This is also one of the only parts in the composition where the drummer does something other than a constant, repetitive double bass beat. The drumming on this song is so boring! Luckily, the brilliant guitar arrangements more than make up for this. There's a series of powerful leads towards the end of the song that are reminiscent of the guitarwork from Mexico's Argentum. In the end, this is a very good song but pales in comparison to what is next...
"Altars of Abyss" is a slower song but is executed in an extremely haunting, orchestral fashion. The keyboards are absolutely stunning on this one; and as much as I hate that instrument 95% of the time in other bands, I just couldn't wait to hear more of them in this track. The unending guitarwork is profusely mournful but with a hint of beauty. You could easily imagine something of this caliber being played at the world's funeral. To call this stuff monumental would only be scraping the surface. Simply said, this is one of the best written atmospheric death metal songs I've ever heard.

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