Growing Horns - The Essence of Suffering

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Growing Horns is a doom/sludge band from Belgium that formed in 2015; their latest release, “The Essence of Suffering,” is their debut full-length; they released an EP in 2019.

“The Essence of Suffering,” is a well-rounded doom metal album.  Overall, it’s a very raw album that’s exposed like a nerve.  It has moments of hellish speed, rolling grooves, and massive stoner/southern sludge tone to it too.  In short, it’s a dynamic album that plays to its strengths, of which there are many. Daf’s vocals are pretty unique, incorporating urgent, epic cleans with shouts, growls, and even blackened screams.  His performance is startling and fits the album’s music like a glove. 

Win’s bass slaps like hell too—so often, albums of such a heavy nature cover up the bass but not the case here.  Instead, it’s another weapon in an already deadly arsenal.  The drums are the same too, Kev constantly providing a well-rounded performance that compliments the various styles.  Didier and Sven each bring a very convincing performance with their guitars, riffs for days that are executed in a variety of ways. 

The atmosphere is both sulphuric and somber, a deft combination of dark moods and tones that make each song stand out from each other while still fitting in with the overall album. 

The album begins with “The Essence of Suffering (A Tale of Spite)" which is probably the most doom metal song title I’ve ever heard.  Spoken word audio and clean tones immediately set the song up for a tragic exposition.  The song builds up with a slow main riff that’s thick as a brick wall but casts a shadow like black clouds.  The drums and bass hammer out a quick, strong rhythm in between the guitars, which are Gothic tinged. The buildup is fantastic, a prime example of how to build tension and then at the 3:30 mark, the drums and bass show how to release that tension in an explosive way. 

Just because your music is as heavy as a freight train falling from Jupiter, doesn’t mean it has to sacrifice a menacing language or creep passages.  “Blood In The Water,” is all these things at once.  It begins at a methodical pace, with the clean guitars and drums very quickly winding up to knock it out of the park at the 1:36 mark.  The vocals rip through, a profane preacher speaking in the tongue of extreme doom.   My favorite moment is around the 5:40 mark with the massive, rolling groove that precede the ultra-insane growls. 

“Dope Fuck,” brings back some of the Gothic elements, complete with heavy riffs with a melodic tinge to them.  The rhythm picks up and drills hard and fast, complimented by the cymbal work.  The vocals are wild as hell, changing on a dime from growls to screams.   

“Umbilical Noose (A Tale of Wrath)” is another great song title, and the music matches the imagery.  This song is unrelenting, even the buildup sounds like it is a powder keg waiting to explode.  The vocals and the rhythm are really in sync with each other, creating layers upon layers of devastation.  

Growing Horns is a band that wasn’t on my radar before I heard this album, but it has been a nice mid-year surprise for the genre.  Give “The Essence of Suffering” a chance because it hits all the right boxes for what makes a great doom/sludge album.  

Rating;  Great














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