Horseback
Half Blood
Relapse (2012)
I remember distinctly the first time I was introduced to Horseback. It was by their 2012 album Half Blood, and I'm told that my experiences were pretty standard. For the uninitiated, your first few seconds of listening to Horseback will inevitably go something like this:"Hm. This is some pretty interesting post-rocky stuff. Oh, hold on, something's messed up with this audio. I keep hearing this static thing, like someone is using sandpaper to scourge the inside of my speakers and--wait, those are the vocals? "Let's just say Horseback's most noticeable feature is that they take what folks might normally consider acceptable limits for black metal vocals's, er, blackness and then proceed to go so far beyond them that they're actually recorded with a two hour delay to account for the difference in time zones. They're approach background noise instead of driving lead, creating an atmosphere that is decidedly unique and haunting.Of course, that's not all there is to them. Though Horseback definitely take cues from black metal, their music is as far from it as you can get, sounding much closer to something I'm just going describe as post-black folkadelic. Repetitious melodies plod on and on, creating a near-hypnotic sensation, … Read more
Vision Of Disorder
The Cursed Remain Cursed
Candlelight (2012)
It's not hard to figure that Vision Of Disorder were one of two Long Island Hardcore bands (along with Glassjaw) … Read more
Inspire Influence
Planet Destroyer
Independent (2012)
Planet Destroyer, the debut EP from Toronto-based post-rock band Inspire Influence, is unhinged in execution, rising and falling like an … Read more
Devin Townsend Project
Epicloud
HevyDevy (2012)
You may never suspect it, but listening to the catalogue of Canadian musician Devin Townsend will cause you to run … Read more
Nathan Ellis
Self Titled
No Sleep (2012)
Mr. Ellis has already accomplished a great deal in his musical “career” (I say it this way because somehow I … Read more
