'Lay My Soul To Waste'
A Pale Horse Named
Death, the brain trust of Sal Abruscato – the former man behind the
drums to legendary New York metal bands Type O Negative and Life Of
Agony – threw the world a major curve ball with the début album,
'And Death Will Follow Me'. Blending Type O Negative-esque
melancholic doom with the southern-tinged grunge of Alice In Chains
and a liberal help of NOLA sludge for good measure, APHND put Sal on
the map as a songwriter in his own right. Now he's back with a full
band and a new set of world weary and horror inspired songs in the
form of 'Lay My Soul To Waste'. But will the Brooklyn, New York
natives' sophomore offering live up to the post Peter Steele
resonance of the début?
The short answer is
yes. A Pale Horse Named Death has come a long way as a
band both technically and in terms of performance quality. Sal hasn't been precious, and
the contributions from the rest of the band give this album a fuller
sound. In terms of songwriting, the band's core sound of Type O
Negative's self-loathing aggression filtered through the opiate haze
of Alice In Chains remains intact. But it all feels a lot more
self-assured this time around, especially with the keyboard elements
being used to greater effect.
Songs like 'Shallow
Grave', 'The Needle In You', 'Growing Old', 'Devil With A Smile' and
'Day Of The Storm' all show off the diverse range of ways that Sal
and Co. can achieve their end goal of crafting dark, heavy music.
It's slow, hard, demented and bleak. But the use of harmonised
vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards keep things interesting and
strangely approachable. Yet the album's true appeal can be summed-up
in the track, 'Cold Dark Mourning'. Much like 'Die Alone' on the
previous album, it's sheer emotional gravitas doesn't relinquish its
hold until the final bars have faded to silence.
It is evident that the
band have taken their time to create a truly memorable album. Sal has
upped his game significantly in terms of songwriting with 'Lay My
Soul To Waste'. And while this album doesn't have that initial
pleasant shock of the first, which left many people wondering why he
hadn't started A Pale Horse Named Death a long time ago. It does
however, feel more well rounded and comfortable than its predecessor.
The end result of which is a feeling that Sal and APHND are fast
cementing their legacy as a band to be reckoned with.