"Of Despair" is the sophomore effort of Newcastle (U.K) based Death Metal outfit HORRIFIED, not to be confused with the Greece based Death Metal band also funnily enough called HORRIFIED! The band has indeed improved upon their sound from their debut album "Descent into Putridity". While the band started out mainly as a for Daniel Alderson to write old school death metal music while PLAGUE RIDER, the band he was in at that time, were playing metal music more in the vein of ATHEIST etc. What started out as a one man band eventually settled upon this lineup. In the words of Daniel, the idea was to write "riff based Death Metal" and "Of Despair" does not let down at all. The band is clearly influenced by bands like AUTOPSY, DISMEMEBERED, and CARCASS etc.

"Palace of Defilement", the first track on the album, starts off with a clean acoustic intro before the riffs kick in. Filled with old school riffs and throaty raspy guttural vocals, there are fast sections, as well as parts where the song slows down considerably. The guitar solo builds up to the crushing riff that follows. "Funeral Pyres", a song over eight minutes, surges to life with a crunching riff. As the song progresses, it changes melodies, tempo and directions several times to keep the audience interested and guessing. There is also a passage of clean singing in this track towards the end. "The Ruins that Remain", the last track on the album is also over the eight-minute mark. Again, it starts out with a clean intro before the guitars join in. The middle section of the song is a slow sludge filled portion that is quite clever. Stand out track for me is the title track "Of Despair". An instrumental song that starts out with a doom laden intro which sets the tone and tempo for the rest of the song. Although, in places, the song lacks consistency, it makes up with the slow devilish riffs.

The new album, however, is an amalgamation of different styles of metal. One does get the feeling, particular during the longer songs, that the band has dropped the ball. The guitar work seems sluggish and out of tempo. HORRIFIED is the midst of recording their third album and unfortunately Mathew Henderson and Daniel Hughes have indeed left the band. The album certainly reminded me of MORBID ANGEL and the early works of DEATH. One can also feel the influences of Swedish Death Metal in the album. The bass work and the drumming is excellent. Although the production value of the album can certainly be improved upon, this is a great effort by the band. The album is definitely extremely enjoyable. This album gives HORRIFIED a standing against the best of the old school Death Metal bands that are out there.<