Horned Almighty - Necro Spirituals
Candlelight
Black N'Roll
9 songs (35:57)
Release year: 2010
Horned Almighty, Candlelight
Reviewed by Goat

Featuring members of other such Danish Metal bands as Exmortem, Koldborn and Black Dementia, Horned Almighty are Satanic to the core, their sly and clever form of hellworship obvious from this album’s name. Yet although I’ve described it as such above, it feels wrong to call Horned Almighty Black N’Roll. They certainly rock, the punk elements of their sound are obvious, but the base of their sound is so clearly Black Metal that denying this by tagging them as some watered-down version is almost disrespectful. Still, I dubbed them ‘Rocking Black Metal’ for my review of their previous album, 2009’s Contaminating The Divine, and few people seemed to take much notice, so here’s hoping that this more populist genre-tag will gain the band more interest! They deserve it, without a doubt, having been blasphemously rocking since 2002 and the decision to sign to Candlelight recently will hopefully mean more ears are exposed to the band’s music. Before the complaints come flying in, I must point out that I’m vindicated in my populist genre-cheekiness by the band’s music, since this form of Satanic darkness is almost very much about having fun. “But Black Metal shouldn’t be fun!” cry the purists. Well, some Black Metal isn’t fun, and shouldn’t be, but that doesn’t mean the idea is completely forbidden – there’s a lot of bands in the genre that many get real enjoyment from, and Horned Almighty are no exception.

If perchance you did hear Contaminating The Divine, you’ll notice little obvious difference in Necro Spirituals’ sound. It’s still the same great crust-infused darkness that seems designed to get you out of your chair and banging your head. There’s a little less groove around this time, however, and a little more riffage, thereby solving my one complaint with the band – the moment the stomping title track kicks in, it’s immediately obvious that Horned Almighty have upped their game. There’s little of the repetition between tracks that I noticed on their last album, if any, the likes of Fountain Of A Thousand Plagues hitting truly catchy heights, and the slower if equally mesmerising Sworn Divine Vengeance pummelling you into submission. The band know their strengths, speeding up when necessary such as on the pedal-to-the-metal The Age Of Scorn, and injecting plenty of epic bile into In Jubilation And Disgust. Finale Absolved In The Sight Of God is especially worthy of mention, frighteningly intense and full of throat-ripping riffage, a crowning glory on an excellent album.

The only thing I can really criticise about Necro Spirituals is that it’s over so quickly – a couple more songs would have been good. Still, it’s the sort of album that’s easy to play over and over again, leaving you satisfied yet craving more each and every time. Expertly delivered, Horned Almighty have produced a cracking album here, that I’ll be returning to again and again until their next. Recommended for fans of Black Metal who want a bit of fun rather than the usual inducements to slit their wrists and wail.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
Fountain Of A Thousand Plagues, The Age Of Scorn, In Jubilation And Disgust, The Blasphemous Burden, Absolved In The Sight Of God
Goat quoted 83 / 100
Other albums by Horned Almighty that we have reviewed:
Horned Almighty - To Fathom the Master's Grand Design reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Horned Almighty - World of Tombs reviewed by Goat and quoted 83 / 100
Horned Almighty - Contaminating The Divine reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
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