This is the first demo of Milwaukee based Death Metal three piece Horrid Mass, and it is an excellent start to their career. There seems to be a trend of modern Death Metal bands drawing a lot of influence from War Metal and Horrid Mass fits into that niche perfectly. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that the bassist/vocalist, Nick Lewis is a former member of Pigs Blood, one of the most brutal Black/Death acts going today.
For a demo this thing sounds absolutely phenomenal. It sounds like a three piece playing, with the heavy, rumbling bass really audible underneath the guitar. While not melodic the riffs are very consonant and audible, and the tone sounds like a swarm of angry bees, which is always a good thing in my book. The vocals are fairly standard for modern Death Metal, but well mixed and executed, it sounds like a portal to hell roaring through the music. But for me the standout is the drumming, which is absolutely blistering. A lot of great cymbal work, and some of the best blasts I’ve heard in a long time. There are even more punk sounding beats, which sound great in such a heavy Death Metal band like this.
Hopefully this is the first of many releases from this project. An absolutely killer first demo.
