A seventh album from this Danish troupe that MetalReviews have followed for over two decades, providing high-octane black metal with a hefty side order of rock n roll if not outright punk. And, perhaps in a misstep, they've messed with the formula here, Contagion Zero resetting the clock a little to minimise the rock n roll good times and lean heavily on the second-wave blasphemy. Of course, Horned Almighty still have that tendency strong in their blood, and album opener The Messiah Scourge features plenty of passages of rock-infused catchiness, albeit beaten into line and in the service of progressing the music's black message. It's a genuine surprise to realise that that song is over seven minutes long, so well-written and precise are the shifts in tempo and riffs, seeming much shorter whilst you're listening.

Sadly the album can't quite keep that level of quality up from then on, yet it does provide more variety than you'd think possible, the likes of Gospels of Sickness dipping into atmospheric black metal territory with their intense poundings. The slower, doomier vibes of Ascension of Fever and Plague and Furnace of Sulphur and Fire are effective but hard to distinguish between without many plays - at least they manage to be entertaining all the while, a hurdle at which a lot of black metal falls! The speed and aggression of Darken the World is more blackened thrash in style, contrasting well with the preceding tracks and the following Epilogue... of Hades and of Death which returns to the crawling darkness.

And that's it! Although more or less as long as previous albums, Contagion Zero can't help but feel a little short. It certainly comes in a little short on killer overall, too, yet is a solid enough effort from Horned Almighty. Producer Andreas Linnemann did a fine job with the band's sound here, murky yet not unclear and with space left for the bass. Longer-term readers will appreciate this reviewer's fandom of the band, as with other rock-infused black metallers such as Khold, for their individuality and sheer sense of fun, but there are few excuses to make for an album that is less exciting or memorable than it should be. Past Horned Almighty albums have been much better, but devotees of the dark arts will find it entertaining enough.