I had really high expectations for this demo after hearing Horrid's amazing self-titled album last year. "Horrid" was an incredible piece of "blackened deathrash" that really stood out, especially because this band wasn't from Australia, Norway or Japan, where this kind of music is more common, but from Southern California. "Kingdom of Decay" follows where the predecessor left off, but there has been a noticeable "evolution" in sound.
Horrid's newest two songs are much darker than anything they've previously released, but they didn't have to forfeit much of the crazier, faster thrashing parts either, which is definitely a good thing. The first track "Resurrectionist" starts with a clean guitar tone, but it quickly turns into a heavy and doomy melody that masks some heavy powerchords. The rest of the song features plenty of headbanging riffage, sinister tremolos and awesome, harsh vocals. The drumming on this song (and the demo as a whole) is solid, and the bass is plenty audible and heavy, so there's no complaints about the band's rhythm section. "Ravaged Flesh Liturgy" is the other song and this one isn't as fast as the first one, but it's got a very dark atmosphere that comes from the great tremolo riffage and the same savage vocals, making for another worthwhile song. "Kingdom of Decay" is definitely a legit follow up to the masterful "Horrid," and it makes me (and I'm sure all of their fans) anxious for the next full-length.
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Highlights
"Resurrectionist"
"Ravaged Flesh Liturgy"
Final Rating
4.25/5 or 85%.