UK black metal act Hordes came into being after a depressingly cold, dark winter in 2011. Taking on the form of a duo initially, Dale Morris (guitar) and Jim Carroll (guitar) soon needed to complete the entity that is Hordes in order to create the punishing and extremely frostbitten EP released by Broken Limbs Recordings in May of this year. Gathering Chris Badham on bass (formerly of Your Life Is A Grave, he also mixed/mastered/produced/engineered/recorded the EP) and Darren Adcock on drums (I Am Colossus), Hordes then looked to Duncan Wilkins (Fukpig, Selfless, Mistress, Anaal Nathrakh) to give them a vocal sound that wouldn’t be out of place in early 90s Norway. And so, the Hordes EP was born.
Four tracks of disparate misery emanate from Hordes EP. There is a distinct aura of decay and the claustrophobic nature of modern life rolls out in shrieks of complete despair. Hordes EP is COLD. The atmosphere is akin to that of the second wave scene of Norway in the early 90s and an inhuman rawness pulses throughout this recording. The introductory and instrumental “All The White Crosses Stood in Rows” initiates Hordes EP with a gentle gloom, paving the way for the desolation found within. “The Darkest Conjuration” thrives on a drum beat that seems so otherworldly and strange that it’s difficult to believe that a mortal could produce such a sound; it has a distinct computerised feel to it, as if the drums are completely programmed. But no, this is the work of a real person and the iciness of the recording is tangibly frosty. Wilkins vocals are superbly harsh; shrieks and deep guttural growls play in the darkness creating an uneasy harmony with the wild guitar progressions beneath.
Continuing the bitter journey into the minds of Hordes, “Betrayer” flickers with a dangerous melody, somewhat comparable to that of Wolves In The Throne Room and Altar of Plagues in terms of marrying sweetly majestic riffs with the extremity of those hellish vocals. Closing with the monolithic intensity of “Sadism in the Name of God Part II), Hordes EP ends on a suitably grim note. Quieter moments of wretched agony permeate the relentless attack heard on the previous tracks, Hordes taking a step back but not losing any of their command or hostility in the move to a more downbeat style. Devastating vocal lines speak of a higher power and the forceful nature of those frantic drum blasts and crashing cymbals ravage the uncomfortably close and confined environment Hordes have created. An air of doom falls over the final minutes, a funereal pace taking precedence before the relentless black metal attack pushes through the shadows conceived by this British group.
Hordes will consume you with aggression and piercing cold. You will savour every second.
ivan
June 25, 2012 at 9:25 am
FUDEROSO!