Year: 17 January 2020
Total Time: 36:23
Label: Strange Aeons Records
HORNED ALMIGHTY hail from Denmark and were formed in 2002 by Simon Petersen (a.k.a. Smerte) and Bjørn Bihlet (a.k.a. Hellpig and later Sloth). The initial plan was to stay as a side project, but as the fan base was growing fast they ended up being a full time band. To tell the truth the other bands these guys are involved are not worth mentioning, so it was a wise choice to me since they have offered us quite a few nice albums in their respective area. This new album entitled “To Fathom the Master’s Grand Design”, was released this January and it’s their 6th full length album. One more time they manage to satisfy their audience with their blend of Thrash/black/punk ‘n’ roll as this is the modern term of what they are playing.
Without wasting any time, just a few seconds pass to help us take position and “Violent Cosmology” grabs us by the necks with its speed and fierce. Then, the “Apocalyptic Wrath”, “Antagonism Eternal”, “Swallowed by the Earth” and “The Great Death” without losing in power, are showing us the “rock” character of the band while “Devouring Armageddon”, “Punishment Divine” and the closing track “Witchcraft Demonology” are more on the “black” side of the things. When we say “black”, don’t think the extreme good old days, imagine the latest MARDUK, SATYRICON and the likes to get the idea.
The running time is rather short for our days, around 37 minutes only, but I don’t think there was any need for more material anyway. There are many good moments inside it and for sure a few tracks will end up in various playlists all over, but this is it, it’s an enjoyable record to listen to thanks to its homogeneity and crisp production but as a final result, I think it barely passes the base without praises and honors, I guess some summer classes will be essential if the boys would like to go to higher levels.
Those of you who enjoy this modern mixture of (early) BATHORY, SATYRICON, MARDUK, DESTROYER 666, SLAYER and WITCHERY will surely enjoy playing it, it’s also a very good companion for the driving hours, if and when they will let us go out and ride our wheels again of course! Other than that, we are looking forward to a better future for the band!
Rating: 6/10
Editor: Antonis Livanios
Related Link: HORNED ALMIGHTY – Facebook Page
