14th March 2025

Review: “Harvesters Of Suffering” by Murderhorde

Back in December 2021 a debut EP “Ritual” appeared from, back then, a little known outside of Newport News Virginia Sludge infused Death Metal act called Murderhorde. Masterminded by multi instrumentalist Michael Velazquez the record announced the band to an unsuspecting World but while they built their reputation with shows and a pair of stand alone singles in the following years, behind the scenes there was a revolving door of members. Having begun the project in 2016, Velazquez and drummer Kevin Garcia weren’t about to give up the dream and continued to bring in fresh blood with debut album “Harvesters Of Suffering” representing a rebirth after a two years of ideation, internal conflict and endless planning. A concept release that explores humanity’s exploitation by unseen extra-dimensional forces that thrive on our turmoil, the record is said to dive into themes of corruption, cyclical decay and existential dread like they were the Mariana Trench…

While a little raw and rough around the edges in terms of sound quality “Earth Is A Pasture For Human Souls” sheds the skin of a Crowbar inspired opening passage with a slick moment of lead and descends rapidly into the darkness of furious Death Metal with malicious intent. The blood spitting vocal is harsh and yet every morsal of lyrical narrative is crystal clear and while the bass is high in the mix, the drums sound a little flat but that punch of aggression is still abundant as the outfit play with texture and tempo to devastating effect. Sharpening their blades and flirting with the avant-garde “An Exercise Of Futility” has a couple of quirky moments of nuance as the bloodshed continues. Between passages of bludgeoning blast beats a couple of solos arise which set the teeth on edge, escaping the trappings on the rhythmic dynamic and exposing wider reaching influences in more progressive offerings. None of the dark and oppressive atmosphere or energy is lost in doing so, the momentum seemingly unstoppable. Floating on a funky bassline “A Dispute” cuts like a chainsaw, the serrated edge making the pomp and circumstance of it a dance macabre in Death Metal fury. The backbone of it all is the pummelling percussion which provides the skeleton framework from which everything hangs majestically and the end result is nothing short of savage.

A face melting solo elevates “To Say We End” to a new realm of existence as Muderhorde traverse the Death Metal spectrum in search of blood. Shifting tempos add to a surprising sense of theatrical drama at the bitter black heart of the sonic monstrosity, the band bringing together a diverse range of influences to create something that sounds fresh while having old school sensibilities. Leads fly in all directions as Black Metal avenues are explored in “Tithes Of Innumerous Corruption“, a fierce affair that ends with a warped spoken word that feels like Jello Biafra making a guest appearance on a Mike Patton project. The descent into madness is very well done, the band making the best use of the tools at their disposal in doing so and creating a nightmarish vision at the same time. Going low, slow and sinister, “Husks (The Death You Face)” sends a chill down the spine as it rises from the blue lagoon. Its the twisted vine that grows, the hypnotic earworm riff becoming trapped inside your mind, never to escape. If evidence was needed that Murderhorde could do atmosphere then its right here, the collective clearly having the musicianship to match their ideas without perhaps the funds to get them polished by a studio guru. Make no mistake, in the hands of someone like Christian Donaldson the potential would be limitless because here on this record, that is the one piece of the puzzle that is missing, everything else is firmly in place. Throwing their shotgun shells in the fire and running like hell “It Loomed Within The Ether” moves into Deathcore territory with bludgeoning breakdowns to add to the furious leads. The bass rumbles as the energy builds, some powerful scream-a-long lyrics adding to the weight and gravity before a final moment of brutality shatters the soul like a broken mirror.

Resistance becomes futile with the old school charms of “Abhor The Sun“, a blistering solo with a whammy bar finale a nod to Death Thrash heroes of yesteryear. A tale of total annihilation harnessing the destructive power of the sun unfolds with riffs reminiscent of those from Blasphemous Creation and makes for a real stand out moment as the band demonstrate what they are truly capable of. In some ways it feels strange to think that Michael Velazquez and Kevin Garcia have been working on this project for almost a decade but all that experience has lead to this point and the album is all the better for it. Another low budget horror film manuscript is put to good use as the lyric sheet for “Cursed Flesh Walks“, a cut which offers Groove Death of the highest order. Somehow the outfit have manged to create something that threatens to burst into Black Metal or devolve into Downtempo Deathcore at various points and if they’d expanded it in either direction then it wouldn’t have surprised. Bringing down the bloodstained curtain on the record “The Unfinished One” writhes in vile luxury, a bass solo and pick slide moment chemically enhancing the vicious onslaught. Climbing riffs play out as a parasite tears at your soul, the bark and bite of the caustic vocal as sharp as ever. What Murderhorde need to do now is find a label backer who can help them maximise their potential and match their vision to give their final product the studio polish it deserves [7.5/10]

Track Listing