Returning to revile after last year’s walloping Burial Ground EP, Oslo’s HORRIFIER opens its dread tome of death to reveal Revelations Of Gore.

After the obligatory intro of ‘Voices’ (check!), ‘Compelled To Slaughter’ begins not with a bang, but a low-level dungeon doom crawl before ripping the lid off with early CANNIBAL CORPSE riffing. That it eventually returns to the realms of doom for the bridge seems less like a throwaway idea and more the foursome stretching themselves, so that by the time the song careens to its explosive end we’re captivated by the off-kilter rhythms, a musical car crash you couldn’t and don’t necessarily want to look away from. ‘Human Butchery’ swings, scythe-like between disembowelment and desperation, invoking D-beat fueled fury and The End Complete-era OBITUARY in its slow, malevolent mangling.

Swirling like offal through the esophageal tube, ‘The Ingestion’ gurgles with a death ‘n’ roll, burble refusing to go down easy, but never pushing the redline speed-wise, letting existing fans know that HORRIFIER 2026 is damn sure willing to take its time to tell its terror tale. ‘Rejoice, Children Of The Flesh’ kicks off with an all-too-brief blues phrase on guitar, something the band might want to experiment with over time, given the perfectly placed solo work between 1:30-1:50 before the grinding machine resumes its work.

A rabid ‘Body Hoarder’ gushes its way into ‘Morbid Lust’, which ravages with an early DISMEMBER franticness, adding a surprising bit of BOLT THROWER in its churning chorus. The bass-led rumble of ‘The Final Oblation’ can’t go without mention, as integral to the chaotic emotions called forth and documented on this album, bowel-shuddering and thunderous. ‘Blood For Ascension’ brings us to the claret soaked climax of Revelations Of Gore, and at just over 41 minutes of playing time, may and should demand repeated listens.

What we have is – in HORRIFIER’s work here – a bloody portrait of a band exploring its own dark soul, pushing itself while remaining within the realm of Pure DEATH METAL writ large and claret-drenched for all to see and hear. Respect.
Review By: Lord Randall

HORRIFIER
Revelations Of Gore
Personal Records

Stream Revelations Of Gore