Review by Adam M on October 15, 2018.

Horrendous performs a technical version of death metal that recalls the likes of Pestilence and Atheist.  They have become more progressive over time and added greater complexity to the mix to up the stakes even more.  The songs here definitely feature that touch of death metal, but they are forward thinking as well.  This doesn’t really surpass the best of Atheist like some newer metal listeners might have you believe, but it carves out its own niche quite well. 

Songs like "Devotion (Blood for Ink)" bring a thoughtful presence to the table and really make the band seem like a highly educated collective.  The music is harsh, but not to the point of brutal death metal and instead tries to be innovative and different.  The problem I have with the disc is that it traverses the styles of great bands and doesn’t really add enough to make them stand out.  Idol sort of fades into the background and doesn’t have the great presence albums like Unquestionable Presence had at the time of their release.  There is a fairly short and nice running length to this disc and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.  The band manage to fit in all their ideas into a succinct forty minute run time, which is nice.  There is some variety in the songs and they change the pace nicely, but it functions at a pretty mid paced tempo for the most part. 

Despite the somewhat sterile sound of the band, the musicianship makes up for this and adds an aspect to like greatly.  This is a quality death metal release that has been overrated by some, but does a nice job bringing thoughtful progressive death metal to the table.  Those that are fans of the bands name checked will definitely want to check Idol out as its much in the same vein as some of their stronger works.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10