SLOW HORSE (II) CD
After they have shown their potential on the first self-titled album on Freebird Records, released in 1998, here's the long awaited second album of NY's heavy low-end powertrio, this time on Berserker Records. The man behind SLOW HORSE is Dan Bukszpan (g/v), and it seems as if he had found a stable line-up with drummer Scott Sanfratello (ex-Angelrot) and bassist Ernest Anderson. For those who don't know, there were always a lot of line-up changes especially the bass players were going in and out. On the new album the whole band is involved in songwriting, only Dan Bukszpan is again responsible for the honest, sometimes, cynical and bitter lyrics that are surrounding around broken relations and/or emotional wounds.
I still like the SLOW HORSE debut, which had helped me a lot through some really hard times in 2001, but to compare it with the debut this one is more like a "real" album. There's something like a red thread in it. Not only heaviest riffing dominates here as in the first five tracks. The last four tracks are showing other qualities .The dynamics between quiet and loud in the last songs are not far away from post-rock territories, and two of the songs are instrumental as "Untitled" where soft atmospheric parts are developing into massive monolithic song structures. Together with Dans unique and emotional vocal style, it's one of the main reasons why SLOW HORSE aren't that typical heavy Doom band. The production emphasis the spirit of the songs and so I give you the advice to get a copy of this intense album.
(KK)