Disfuneral – In Horror, Reborn

Written by on 24-05-2025 at 18:04.

In Horror, Reborn is the latest album from Disfuneral. The guys from Nancy already had an EP and an album to their name, but for me this record is the first introduction. And a pleasant one I may say!

The band describes its music as old school death metal with themes such as death, horror and bloodshed, for fans of Entombed, Autopsy, Entrails, Necrot and Black Breath. These references prove to be more than justified with the first notes of single Extremity In Morbidity: brutal death ‘n’ roll straight in your face. At just over two and a half minutes, it is the shortest song on the album, but it is immediately clear what Disfuneral stands for: fast guitars, chopping drums and filthy vocals. This calls for more and fortunately the gentlemen from Nancy know how to deliver.

Where Extremity In Morbidity is still somewhat straightforward, on the second single and title track the blast beats, fast polkas and grooving and dragging passages follow each other in rapid succession. And for the rest of the record the French quartet does not deviate from that path. Sometimes the music is reminiscent of the American old school, such as the brutal opener Catacomb Dwellers. The dissonant sound of the guitars take center stage and singer Renaud Mann shows how much lung capacity he has. His throat is often reminiscent of that of Chris Reifert (Autopsy). Songs like Tombs Vomiting The Dead and Blessed By Decay tend more towards Swedish-style death metal due to the brutal polkas and more melodic riffing.

Everything about In Horror, Reborn breathes death metal. Not only the music but also the lyrics and artwork are drenched in a bloody death metal sauce. The cover by Jon Whiplash is somewhere between the artwork of Dark Recollections (Carnage) and that of Mental Funeral (Autopsy) which once again creates a nice transatlantic bridge.

You could dismiss Disfuneral as just another HM2 death metal band, but you would be doing these guys a huge disservice. Here you hear a real band at work: gifted musicians who are well-attuned to each other through their wealth of experience and who exude the joy of playing. With In Horror, Reborn, Disfuneral brings a filthy ode to the old gods, but gives their music its own character through rough, authentic songs. Personal favorite: the last song Call From The Void. If my ears are not deceiving me, the drumsticks are triumphantly thrown into the corner after a rough take. That’s rock ‘n’ roll!

Attention Dutch programmers: the festival posters always feature the same names. Program something new. With a few hours’ drive, the men of Disfuneral can perform on a Dutch stage and you can have a mercilessly hard metal show where both moshers and headbangers can indulge their death metal hearts. Ugh!

Score:

85/100

Label:

Redefining Darkness Records, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. Catacomb Dwellers
  2. Tombs Vomiting The Dead
  3. Ripped From Within
  4. Crypt Of Demented
  5. Extremity In Morbidity
  6. Dark Ages Ritual
  7. Blessed By Decay
  8. In Horror, Reborn
  9. Call From The Void

Line-up:

  • Renaud Mann – Vocals
  • Florian Brabant – Guitar
  • Clement Favre – Bass guitar
  • Yann Remy – Drums

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