1. "Invokation". Slow stoner buildup gets overturned by crazy dying vampire vocals. The vocals also make me think of that Gollum thing, of Lord of the Rings fame, if it was a few centuries younger. He has the ring evidently on this album. Confident little rotting thing. Horseback has strong vocals. Parts of the vocals even sound like what happens when you scrape your guitar strings with a pair of scissors or a rusty machete. Slow guitar solo at the 5:30 mark. Over the same stoner metal riff. This first song is solid.
Commercial for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In a perfect world the soundtrack of this movie is performed by Horseback.
2. "Tyrant Symmetry". Fuzz bass interrupts a tea pot interrupted by melodic guitars interrupted by dying singer. This stuff is cool. I'm not sure what the vocals are about, but I bet it's Lord of the Rings. What else do bands sing about? The cool thing about Horseback is that their music is the exact opposite of the vocals. The music on this track kind of strikes images of 1980s space travel, while the vocals make you picture the medieval fantasy genre ogre rotting in a dungeon somewhere. Like when you find yourself framed, thrown into the dungeon, and in the corner emerges this hideous death thing that has been rotting for years. It seeks companionship, but it is also hungry. Great track.
3. "The Invisible Mountain". Drum fill from the end of "Tyrant Symmetry" blends smoothly into "The Invisible Mountain". More stoner rock. Definitely climbing an invisible mountain. The music makes me think that it is very possible that the mountain is visible, but there is no way any of the musicians are playing with their eyes open. Halfway up the invisible mountain, comes rotting singer guy. Eyes-closed musicians don't flinch. He's doing all he can to get their attention, but they aren't having it. This will probably make the singer angry. There is definitely a good vs. evil battle going on. The guitars are your heroes, the vocals are death. Who will win?
4. "Hatecloud Dissolving Into Nothing". This seems like the finale. The musicians have apparently won the battle because there are no vocals so far, three minutes into the track. I guess I was hoping for death to prevail. In the 4 minute mark it seems like vocal guy is waking up. Or maybe it's just a broken lawnmower. Vocal death is either waking up, or saying it's last words as it fades into nothing. The struggle continues for another few minutes.And by a few minutes I mean ten. It's a slow struggle, but one I think I could have lived without. SPOILER: Good prevails, but it still seems like an unsure victory.
To be continued...
4 out of 5 decapitated goats
Top Tracks:
1. Tyrant Symmetry
2. Invokation
3. The Invisible Mountain
No comments:
Post a Comment