Wednesday 1 February 2017

Horseneck - Heavy Trip (Album Review)


Release date: February 17th 2017. Label: Self Relased. Format: CD/Cassette/DD

Heavy Trip – Tracklisting

1.Bird Worried
2.Michael Caine
3.P.A.G
4.Smokin' Stacks
5.Hangman
6.Bobby Brown 03:14
7.No Gods
8.Lester Vitalis
9.Basket of Snakes
10.Plow the Road

Band Members

Anthony Paganelli – guitar, vocals
Lennon Hudson - bass
Lance Jackman – guitar, vocals
Jess Gowrie – drums

Review

Horseneck is comprised of members from bands diverse as Will Haven and Chelsea Wolfe. With that kind of pedigree you would probably be expecting an Alternative/Doom and Gloom style of band. Well you would be wrong as Horseneck play a more upbeat style of Noise Rock/Sludge/Stoner Rock with hints of Blues Rock holding everything together.

Horseneck debut album – Heavy Trip – is where the emphasis is on fun and creating some heavy noisy riffs along the way. Opening track – Bird Worried is noisy slice of Blues/Stoner driven rock. A great blend of different vocals with heavy hardcore style growls matched against some cool sultry female blues rock vocals. The riffs have the swagger and confidence of QOTSA.

Second track – Michael Caine – is a more disjointed affair compared to the opening track as Horseneck remains in the Noise Rock world with elements of Punk, Sludge and Stoner Rock that see Horseneck playing riffs that Red Fang have sadly left behind. This song has such an uproarious rebellious streak you can’t but help enjoying the addictive wild ride. The song has a soulful blues and dirty punk heartbeat lurking under all that Sludge/Stoner Rock carnage. The final part of the song sees Horseneck slow things down for a sludgier atmosphere. This is perhaps the most out of control rock song on the album and is perhaps the albums standout track.

Third track – P.A.G. opens with strange soundclips before the heavy sludgy punk riffs appear. It’s another loud offering from these genre-defying riffsters. This song has a more alt-rock/grunge style approach with the instrumental work having quite an experimental feel. Though Horseneck return to the albums earlier heavy psychedelic sounds that will leave you guessing which direction the album turns to next.

Fourth track – Smokin Stacks – is perhaps the albums most straight-forward psych stoner rock song with heavy bursts of post-hardcore energy. The dual vocals see Horseneck offering a more heartfelt approach with a great sing-along chorus.

Fifth track – Hangman – sees Horseneck change the albums direction yet again as it opens with a subtle Blues Rock sound. With this being Horseneck, the mood doesn’t stay quiet for long as they bring a heavy metallic groove that demands your attention.

Other great songs to check out are: Bobby Brown, Lester Vitalis and Plow The Road. Bobby Brown is another potential standout track as it follows the same template as Michael Caine. Though Bobby Brown is slightly more demented in tone and in scope.

Heavy Trip is an album that more than lives up to it’s name as it’s a heavy psychedelic trip and one that will appeal to fans of The Melvins, QOTSA, Indian Handcrafts and Red Fang the most. Horseneck don’t play to genre conventions as they experiment to create their own addictive sound. Heavy Trip is perhaps one of the strangest and most addictive records you’ll hear this year. This is one trip worth taking over and over again.

An absolutely fantastic album. End of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo. Heavy Trip will be available to buy on Cassette, CD and DD from February 17th 2017.

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