<IMG SRC=http://www.hmas.org/reviews/covers/no_cover.jpg ALIGN=RIGHT>Official Pale Horse Web Site
Label: N/A
Rating: 9/10

Track listing:
1 - Sleepwalking
2 - Once More Into The Breach
3 - Downfall
4 - Demons (live)
5 - 789 (demo)

I’ll never forget my first exposure to heavy metal. I was about 13, and was hanging out at my friend Ted’s house, when he asked if I’d ever heard Judas Priest before. Since I hadn’t, and he knew I was an aspiring drummer, he played me “Painkiller”, and from the opening bursts of Scott Travis’s bass drums, I was a changed man. I remember the goosebumps as that now legendary (and often aped) riffage first assaulted my ear drums, as that awful buck-toothed grin snaked its way across my middle school face. It was the feeling of finally experiencing that proper balance of brute force, instrumental prowess, and unbridled passion that I’d always been looking for in music. Great stuff, let me tell you...

So, fast forward to 2006. After catching their jaw-dropping live show (which included a blistering rendition of Megadeth’s “Mechanix”), I picked up this 5-song demo CD from these New Yorkers, and man oh man! Glorious old school power thrash, ahoy! I felt those familiar butterflies of excitement when the opening riff of “Sleepwalking” came blasting through my headphones, the sound of glorious METAL assuaging any fears I had of their recordings living up to their intense live show.

It’s tough to play traditional heavy metal nowadays without sounding old and cliched. Luckily, these guys inject their brand of metallic force with enough adrenaline and modern edge (don’t worry, no awful commercial influences, it just never sounds dated) to keep things sounding fresh, while still recalling the glory days of Judas Priest or Metallica.

The opening track, “Sleepwalking”, is a catchy anthemic tune with an absolutely righteous riff that would make Metal Church or Judas Priest jealous. Yes, this is WAY better than anything off of the latter’s paltry reunion album, but that’s a whole other can of worms. Chris Nagy's fiery six-string chops are well tempered with a subtle melodic sensibility you’d expect from Vito Bratta or Nuno Bettencourt, but without all the cheese. It’s the sort of catchy, memorable, yet heavy riffage you might expect from Swedish heavyweight Magnus Karlsson, come to think of it. This song will be stuck in your head for days. Andy Martin’s vocals are also on fine display here, showcasing his impressive versatility. He can shift effortlessly from an almost Randy Rampage-like narrative to powerful Glenn Danzig-style crooning, as evident on the triumphant chorus.

Next up is one of my favorite tunes on this CD, “Once More Into The Breach” (even the title screams classic metal). Sure enough, we get a rockin’ thrasher that’s somewhere between Iron Maiden’s “Gangland” and Metal Church’s “Hitman”, maybe with a slight dash of uptempo Motorhead thrown in. This guitarist really has a penchant for mining the characteristics of what makes classic metal riffing so great, never sacrificing heaviness for subtle melody and tasteful rhythms, well accentuated by flurries of double bass drumming. The rhythm section is tight as a rivet throughout, adding to the initial wallop of their sound. The chorus on this number is another great sing-along refrain which goes over particularly well live, with the guitar screaming along with soaring vocals and shifting effortlessly in an absolutely ripping solo (this guy can really play!).

“Downfall” starts out with some heavy, slightly more modern sounding riffing (think early ‘90s Overkill, although it reminds me a bit of Exodus once the vocals kick in). Keep in mind that the guys in Pale Horse never sound like they’re ripping off any of the aforementioned bands in the least, I’m just doing my best here to provide some stylistic comparisons. Clocking in at 6:39, this is the longest track on the CD, and really goes places with its glorious guitar leads and confident, attitude-soaked vocals. Some nice thrash grooves can be found here, with tight drum fills and a snarling chorus complete with thrash gang vocals! In spite of some retro-sounding characteristics, this is one of the more modern sounding tunes on here, as they nail some heavy but still thrashy rhythms midway through the song. The solo near the end is particularly killer, another fine yet tastefully restrained (when necessary) display of this guy’s fearsome fretwork.

The CD is capped off with 2 more songs, the first of which is a live song entitled “Demons”, which is a nice thrash number with nimble riffing and surprisingly heavy vocals. The sound quality is pretty good, and I bet this song would really tear things up if recorded properly and given the appropriately heavy sonic treatment in a studio.

Things end with a demo tune called “789”, which is a fun and almost punk-sounding tune, with shredding wah-drenched solo sections and well-executed tradeoff vocals that segue into gang choruses. The effect is somewhat similar to that of Overkill’s “Old School”, providing a fun romp of a song with esoteric lyrics and first-rate musicianship. You can tell they had a blast recording this stuff.

In short, go see these guys if you live in the New York area. Pick up their CD, and get some quality grade-A METAL into your life. Not a lot of bands are playing old school metal anymore with such power, conviction, and surprising originality. Managing to sound modern without buckling to any trends, they avoid the cliches inherent in so many great metal records of the past, and crank out some incredible stuff that should have any record label’s jaw on the floor. Too bad killer thrash isn’t hip nowadays, because it damn well should be. Fans of bands keeping the flame of true metal alive like Jag Panzer, Imagika, or Manilla Road would do well to check these guys out. Especially those of the old guard who grew up on bands like Armored Saint or Metal Church, you need to hear these guys NOW. They take an old genre and make it sound exciting and powerful, and they deserve all the attention possible. Kick ass!

-Will Schwartz