After the release of their self-produced debut "The Melting Idols", they began an active live streak with bands like Lacuna Coil, Ancient, and Napalm Death.

Immediately following their 1998 demo cassette 'An Abode For Spirit And Flesh', they quickly developed a wide and strong following in the underground and gained attention from the specialized press with few reviews hitting lower than the 'excellent' mark.

They incorporated instruments such as piano, viola, violin, mandolin, synth, and very diverse vocal styles into their music, something which was new to the scene at that time.

The official debut album "Waltzing Mephisto" contains a cover of the black metal anthem "Freezing Moon" by Mayhem blended with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells (The Exorcist)" and Italian 1970s prog band Il Balletto di Bronzo's "Terzo Incontro", highlighting the band's inspiration with 1970s dark progressive rock music.

Hortus Animae recorded their metalized epic interpretation of "Windfall" & "Summoning Of The Muse" featuring a joint effort with gothic singer Liv Kristine on lead vocals.

Released worldwide in a double CD edition with new artwork, this collection featured the very first self-produced album The Melting Idols, which had not been included in the previous box set.

It was recorded at Domination Studio (RSM) with producer and sound engineer Simone Mularoni (DGM, empYrios), which now is also the band's session bass player.