Review: “Soul Awakening” by Horror Within

Adorned by artwork by Samaelle Edrakin that immediately takes us to the darker side of Pacific Rim and Kaiju rising from the oceans to crush cities, a debut full length album from French Technical Death Metal aficionados Horror Within to follow 2022 EP “Awaiting Extinction” holds much promise. A six piece, the band have a twin headed dragon breathing fire on the stage with vocalists Loris Padovani and Maxence Beauvarlet front an center. Joining them are a rhythm section of  bassist Alain Souchet and drummer Vincent Labelle (Antropofago, Operadyse) with guitarist duo Eliott Paloux and Philippe Larinier providing the riffs. As a collective they claim influence from the Swedish Death Metal scene and are very much still in love with the HM-2 Pedal with Entombed and Dismember but based previous evidence there is more to them than meets the eye…

…or should that be ear? Guest vocals from Maxime “Achlys” Roos and Lilas “Ondine” Dupont of Silhouette fame are somewhere in here for a start… The brutal “Phobophobia” gets things going with in typically crushing fashion, blistering distorted guitars and full throttle percussive battery burning all the bridges to light the way in adrenaline pumping style. There is however deviation from the left hand path with a few leads that flirt with Melodic Death Metal which adds a little spice that’s nice without shattering the dark and brooding atmospheric. That lends itself to the frostbitten “Silent Fall” a track upon which the band make great use of seismic tempo shifts as they move between sub-genres with style and grace, one second putting the pedal to the metal with gravity blasting and the next slowing to a mid tempo ominous melodic groove as if it was nothing.

There is a similar pomp and circumstance to the punishment beating that is “Rupture” as the band continue to be abrasive but with syncopated rhythms and dissonant textures. A soaring solo makes for an unexpected moment of vibrancy in the brutal onslaught, the guest vocalists playing their part in the complete annihilation of the ear drums, Ondine having an almost ethereal moment to augment the others throat splitting tendencies. Moving into Beatdown Deathcore territory “Waiting Room” churns and burns with wave after wave of battery acid nausea riffage and demolition site worthy blasting, the only question being if you can get down with the raw violence of the rhythm guitar tone, which it has to be said is particularly nasty and may grind your gears.

There is melody to the madness of “Basic Day” which has death growls interwoven into the very fabric of its existence. What makes it is the vocal interplay between Padovani and Beauvarlet that gives the track depth and texture as the duo have contrasting tones, one being shriller than the other. Lurching from a classic Death Metal onslaught to a passage of 90’s break beats is a moment of madness that works pretty well and almost seems like an excuse for the six piece to go harder in the final third, particularly vocally. Whether that means we’ll see some Pitchshifter inspired remixes remains to be seen, although this one certainly lends itself to that. “Dead Inside” isn’t a cover of the Chimaira offering from their Fear Factory inspired album “Pass Out Of Existence” but instead its own piece of violence with a couple of interesting avant-garde moments that create a plot twist. Progressive Metal riffs and ethereal vocals appear seemingly from out of nowhere to create that before the band double down on their usual violence, smashing their way through the remainder of the cut as if they’re disgusted with themselves for allowing a moment of guilty pleasure.

The neck snapping “Tears of Angels” is nothing short of a savage assault on the senses, a full throttle onslaught that only slows to towel down before going again. Going toe to toe both vocalists are spitting blood and venom on this one like they’re possessed by demons, ranting and raving in almost unhinged fashion between the bludgeoning breakdowns. The call for mosh pit violence is only broken by a scorching melodic solo and even that is short lived. Flirting with Black Metal atmospheres “The Beast” is sonically more expansive, pushing into darker melodic territory with eerie, haunting moments that expose some of the bands wider influences. There is still plenty of sonic weight here but this is a grand finale that presents an almost entirely different hellscape. All in all an album that will make your ears bleed before it soothes you but is ultimately rewarding with a handful of fresh ideas [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Phobophobia
2. Silent Fall
3. Rupture
4. Waiting Room
5. Basic Day
6. Dead Inside
7. Tears of Angels
8. The Beast

“Soul Awakening” by Horror Within is out 3rd October 2025 via Dolorem Records and is available over at bandcamp