Bloodhorse: More Horizoned Than Thou
After the considerable buzz that surrounded them following the 2007 release of their debut, self-titled EP through Translation Loss, Boston?s Bloodhorse make a firm statement with Horizoner, clearly demonstrating there?s more to stoner metal in 2009 than Sleep worship or post-metal posturing. With nine tracks in just under 50 minutes, the trio update Kyuss riffs with beard metal sensibilities, pounding drums, and semi-melodic vocal shouts. It?s new school, for sure, but Bloodhorse?s up-from-the-basement aesthetic serves them well when it comes to unleashing their sometimes speedy charge.
Horizoner is a bold release from the outset, beginning with the album?s longest track, ?A Good Son,? the first six minutes of which is pure intro. With a full song tacked onto the slow build start (if you can?t abide a band taking a while to get where they?re going, you?re in the wrong genre), ?A Good Son? stretches near 10 minutes, two and a half longer than the next closest, but it also sets the tone for the record perfectly. Bloodhorse have a strong, aggressive take on ?90s stoner rock that shows itself in huge Torche-style guitars and vocals which, on the short ?Aphoristic,? come on with punk rock velocity. Drummer Alex Garcia-Rivera, who also engineered and mixed this recording, shows himself to be versatile enough in whatever gear the song takes, his crash and tom work being principle to the success of ?A Passing Thought to the Contrary? and other cuts throughout.
The nigh-catchy ?The Old Man? becomes an easy album highlight, though the tradeoff vocals of bassist Matt Woods and guitarist Adam Wentworth are high in the mix and seem to drown out the guitar that feels like it should be encompassing everything, thickened by a more substantial bass tone. Bloodhorse up the intensity on ?Paranoiac,? balancing tempo changes with ease and infecting a doom riff that borders on memorable and is nothing if it?s not familiar. ?Close, but Never So? might be the Torche-iest of the material here presented, but Garcia-Rivera pulls it together and the trio actually sounds their most cohesive yet.
They play with melding tracks and some non-traditional structures, as on the mostly-instrumental earlier cut, ?Nonhossono,? but even in doing so, Bloodhorse are largely within the parameters of modern stoner metal. After their EP, it was easy to think they might be another act in league with today?s genre forerunners, and they might still get there, but Horizoner does not cross the boundaries of individuality or greatness that a lot of the anticipation for it had led to believe it might. Nonetheless, just because you won?t be telling the grandkids where you were the first time you heard it doesn?t mean it?s not worth your time listening now. Bloodhorse still prove a strong contender, even if Horizoner doesn?t seem to capture them at their best.
Tags: Bloodhorse, Boston, Massachusetts, Translation Loss
