Album Review: HORSE the Band – A Natural Death

HORSE The Band – A Natural Death
Koch Records – KOCCD4228 – 28 August 2008

Being both intrigued and annoyed by the ‘Nintendocore’ tag thrust on HORSE’s shoulders, A Natural Death was approached with a degree of suspicion. A pleasant surprise it was, then, to discover that HORSE the Band are a superbly technical outfit in the vein of latter-day Dillinger Escape Plan (in want of an easy reference point). Yet in this fickle world we live in, the band does espouse its own gimmickry in the form of synths that – you guessed it – sound like they were sampled from old Nintendo and arcade games of the 80’s. And sure enough, as ‘Hyperborea’ thunders from the starting gate, it quickly gives way to bleeps and blips of the ancient ‘Donkey Kong’ variety. What’s more, the two pieces that close A Natural Death are MIDI versions of album tracks that end up sounding like old ‘Street Fighter’ stage themes.

Now whilst the more cynical amongst you may balk at what appears to be a ploy to tap into the neuro-associative nostalgia brainwaves of young men in the 20s and 30s, that assertion would be more valid were these guys chops not up to scratch. Thankfully, a dig beneath the zany surface reveals a great stab at technical metalcore (or ‘mathcore, or whatever it is we’re calling it these days). Slabs of meaty riffage cascade around versatile drumming, and the vocals strike a decent balance between emotiveness and aggression – mercifully we’re spared any emo crooning – always a plus. ‘I Think We are Both Suffering’ is a lengthy number that moves through myriad tempos and moods, including a nifty jazzy section. The fantastic ‘Murder’ is perhaps the best example of HORSE’s penchant for video game homages, as the frantic musicianship shifts atop pervasive synths that sound like ‘F-Zero’ put to a metal soundtrack (which, oddly enough, is how I used to describe Children of Bodom’s keyboard solos to people when I was 16). ‘The Beach’ is completely synth-based, meanwhile, and is reminiscent of one of those scenes from the old ‘Final Fantasy’ games on the SNES; the ones where the protagonists had happened upon a village in ruins because of their nemesis or something, and the music was all foreboding and sad.

You see, it’s hard not to like this if you’re of a certain age/tendency towards geekiness without coming over all doe-eyed for a childhood long wasted. Thus ‘Face of Bear’ becomes less noted for its chugging riffs than because it sounds like a metalled-up boss encounter. A Natural Death is an enjoyable listen, although in the face of Dillinger Escape Plan it can sound a little lightweight. However, there’s plenty to be gotten from Horse the Band, or at least more than might seem apparent on first listen.

Official HORSE the Band Website
Official HORSE the Band MySpace
Official Koch Records Website

Album Review: Harvey Milk – Life…The Best Game in Town

Harvey Milk – Life…The Best Game in Town
Hydra Head – HYH-159 – 3 June 2008

Inhabiting a similar sphere as the Melvins, Corrosion of Conformity and others within the ‘punky-Sabbath-sludge-cum-rock’ genre, Harvey Milk have returned after a lengthy hiatus to produce Life…, a thoroughly heavy offering that’s possibly their best work to date. A doom-trodden, dirge-like quality washes over many of the tracks herein – most notably in the suitably spiteful ‘After All I’ve Done for You, This is How You Repay Me?’ – but when they rock out there’s a touch of the southern-fried boogie that could easily have appeared on an Alabama Thunderpussy record. ‘Barnburner’ is aptly titled, for instance, blasting forth like an undesirable hoedown incited by a throng of doped-up hillbillies, and although Harvey Milk are a fairly monstrous beast at times, there is a creeping melodicism at play throughout; hell, ‘Decades’ outro leads would give a Sarah Palin-esque wink to Led Zeppelin if vocalist Creston Spiers hand’t just been roaring at us like Buzz Osbourne with the flu.

At times Life… can drag a little, the band lingering on riffs that don’t quite deserve it. ‘Goodbye Blues’ is such an example as it happily goes nowhere for 4 minutes before finally taking off in a barrage of inspired leads. Of course, it’s more than likely that the band knew exactly what they were doing, since ‘Goodbye Blues’ winds up, literally, in the theme tune for ‘Looney Tunes’. There’s an amiable balance between the more off-kilter moments and the all-out rocking on this album that marks it well above its peers, and it has the grittiness that the last few Melvins albums have perhaps lacked (not to mention their ex-4 stringer Joe preston on bass duties). And like the Melvins, Harvey Milk have a slacker-friendly, oddball humour to them that works well with such material. Life… is the kind of record you’ll want to put on before a night drinking crappy beer and crushing the cans off your forehead, and as such it probably has the most appropriate artwork you’ll ever see. Life affirming.

Official Harvey Milk Website
Official Harvey Milk MySpace
Official Hydra Head Website