Horseburner - Voice Of Storms (Album Review)

Release Date: June 21st 2024. Record Label: Blues Funeral Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Voice Of Storms: Tracklisting

1. Summer's Bride

2. The Gift

3. Heaven's Eye

4. The Fawn

5. Hidden Bridges

6. Palisades

7. Diana

8. Silver

9. Widow

Band Members

Jack Thomas - guitar, vocals, keys

Adam Nohe - drums, vocals, percussion

Matt Strobel - guitar

Ryan Aliff - bass, upright bass

Review

Sludge/Stoner Metal Riff Technicians Horseburner return with their fourth album Voice Of Storms and sees the band continue their Progressive and Technical based sounds on their acclaimed 2019 album The Thief. You can see why the band have well deserved comparisons to legendary bands such as Mastodon and Baroness as the band craft similar sounding Progressive themes but with a more outlandish premise especially on the more fast-paced and aggressive moments on the record.

Voice Of Storms sees Horseburner embrace that popular Post-Stoner and Psychedelic attitude that has served King Buffalo, Howling Giant and Restless Spirit recently but this time round the band adds sludgier levels of Ambient rhythms and a flat out classic Prog Metal score within the tracks of Summer Bride, The Gift and Heaven’s Eye. Horseburner weaves Prog Rock storytelling that may have a slight feel of OPETH at times but with the ferocious sound of modern-day MASTODON which still sounds quite vibrant.

However, that doesn’t stop Horseburner exploring other areas of music such as Folk Rock, Stadium Rock and even twinges of Jazzy interludes on the later stages of the record. There’s always a lush sounding heavy progressive groove that allows Horseburner to retain the status quo of their dominant Sludge/Stoner Metal destructive appetite.

There’s a sublime sense of great storytelling within this album which can be quite therapeutic even when Horseburner adds a more deeply aware and hard hitting social conscience into the mix.  This allows Voice Of Storms to be quite a clever multi-charged record that’s populated by pulsating upbeat Psychedelic rhythms and extended instrumental passages. 

The vocals are always engaging which flirt between bittersweet melodic vocals and a muscular Sludge/Stoner Metal style that’s became quite the mainstay for Horseburner over the last couple of records. 

Other standout tracks are The Fawn, Hidden Bridges, Diana and Widow - that allows Horseburner to include other deft styles of Sludge/Stoner Metal that will appeal to fans such as Torche and High On FIre. Throw in some classic sounding THIN LIZZY inspired twin guitar energy and Horseburner are finally becoming masters of creating highly original music to call their own.

Voice Of Storms is beautifully produced and fully realized with robust production values that allows Horseburner to deliver a highly atmospheric record that’s bursting with classic sounding songs from start to finish. This is without doubt Horseburner’s best album to date and perhaps where all their future releases will be compared against. It’s quite simply an unmissable album.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Voice Of Storms will be released on CD/DD/Vinyl via Blues Funeral Recordings from Friday 21st June 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | Twitter

Blues Funeral Recording Latest Updates With ABRAMS, HORSEBURNER And HASHTRONAUT

HASHTRONAUT No Return (splatter vinyl edition) - (photo courtesy of Igor Lukina)

Holy moley! We try not to be too in-your-inbox with our updates, but we didn't mean to let it get to the end of April without a word. Now we have to catch you up, but we promise you're gonna want to hear all this.

When the year started, we told you 2024 would be a bit of a pivot for us, not in music quality or style, but in bringing out records from some younger bands whose names you might not always recognize.

Don't worry, this doesn't mean we're finished working with legends and heavyweights like Dozer and Acid King! It just means we found ourselves blasting the hell out of stuff from a handful of newer bands that's so good we just couldn't pass up the chance to bring it to the world.

Our goal has always been that the Blues Funeral brand would be a mark of quality, an assurance that fans of colossal riffs, soaring melodies, massive tones and irresistible hooks could rely on being able to dig pretty much any record with our logo on the back.

We're don't literally expect you to love every single thing we release, but honestly, that's always what we're striving for! And we're pretty confident that with what we've got coming in 2024, you'll have a hell of a time finding something that doesn't deliver.

ABRAMS

ABRAMS "Fire Waltz" Official Music Video

First up in the coming months is a band called ABRAMS, whose new record Blue City is a cathartic mix of catchy, driving rhythms, soaring vocals and ethereal ambiance that we think fans of everything from post-metal to classic grunge will dig. Wait, grunge? Really?

So here's the thing: our founder started his first label in 1997, right when desert/stoner rock was coalescing into a worldwide movement. He'd been listening to Kyuss, Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu since 1992, but you know what else he was listening to during that time?

Yep, grunge. And we'd be lying to ourselves if we didn't acknowledge that stoner rock shares a ton of common roots with grunge.

Both came into being around the same time.

Both drew from heavy 70s and classic rock and metal.

Both were a response to the superficiality of late 80s hair-metal and the watered-down commerciality of 90s radio rock.

And both were characterized by total authenticity. Yeah, grunge blew up and stoner rock not as much, but in terms of heavy music styles, the only one on par with stoner rock if you're talking undeniable commitment to unpretentious heaviness is grunge.

We're not afraid to say that you may hear a touch of grunge swirling around in what ABRAMS do. But that's also what's so damn cool, because these guys were barely alive when grunge was happening.

ABRAMS are young, hungry, and they've been guzzling the entirety of heavy rock history and letting it seep into their blood, and now they're unleashing their take on what modern heaviness can be.

That's why we can say without hesitation that if Torche, ASG and Cave In are up your alley, we know you'll be riveted by ABRAMS, but also if you dig Failure, Quicksand, Hum, and hell, even Soundgarden.
We can't say enough about how stoked we are to be working with this band and how bowled over we are by their perfect melodic songcraft. It's cathartic and bittersweet, nostalgic while feeling fresh, and above all, it fucking rocks.

Check out the video above for the first single "Fire Waltz" and if you dig it, head over to Bluesfuneral.com, our Bandcamp or our European Web Shop to preorder Blue City, the new album from ABRAMS that arrives next month.

HORSEBURNER

HORSEBURNER "The Gift" Official Music Video

Speaking of up-and-coming bands who you may or may not know (but should), here's a no-brainer: Blues Funeral will release the new album from HORSEBURNER this June.

Where to start? This is one of Howling Giant's favorite bands. In fact, they've been touring together regularly for years. So yeah, that's point one in their favor.

Point two is that these guys have utterly mastered galloping modern metal in a way that only the absolute topmost tier of heavy bands have; we're talking Mastodon, Baroness, that level of heavy musicianship.

This is breakneck high-energy riff-metal that'll have you swerving toward freeway dividers, you'll be banging your head so hard.

Okay, let's breathe for a second.

HORSEBURNER isn't a "new" band. They've been around a few years, and they put out a killer album in 2019 on Ripple Music. But like every band in our scene, part of making a mark is showing you'll be here for the long haul, that you're gonna keep growing and burning down stages year after year.

Again, going back to examples like Dozer and Acid King, these are bands who've been going for decades, and their greatness wasn't just accepted by any of us on day one. They persevered, and eventually, what they did was in your DNA and ours.

That's the track HORSEBURNER is on. Mastodon didn't go from Remission to Crack the Skye in a week. They built, they tore down, they rebuilt, they set it on fire, they started again.

What HORSEBURNER has made with new album Voice of Storms is them on that path. It's a massive leap, an endless array of musical flexes. It's blistering tempos, fearless hooks and burly crush. Voice of Storms is a sludge-prog triumph full of soaring, obliterating mini-epics. These guys do things a lot of other bands never try, because a lot of other bands just could never do it.

HORSEBURNER will be with us all for some time, but this is their Leviathan... so it's time to get on the boat.

Preorder Voice of Storms at Bluesfuneral.com, our Bandcamp or our European Web Shop, and stream first single "The Gift" right now at the video link above or on all digital platforms. And be looking out for more live dates this summer (yes, some of them with their pals in Howling Giant).

HASHTRONAUT

HASHTRONAUT on Tour!

In January, we introduced you to HASHTRONAUT, a band who represented this label's first foray into the grand tradition of weed-metal odysseys. And you responded by making this one of the fastest growing and exploding bands ever on this label.

Their Spotify numbers, if you pay attention to that kind of thing, went from 300 listeners a month to over 5000.

There was no magic. We haven't figured out any tricks or behind the scenes maneuvers to bump streaming numbers up.

This was all you.

Fans of quality heaviness just love HASHTRONAUT's No Return album, and are letting the world know by streaming the goddamn hell out of it.

We're down to our last few copies of the stunning splatter vinyl version of No Return, but the band will be hitting the road on tour this May and they're carrying a handful with them as well. So order your copy now, or get out and see them to snag one.

Thanks for taking a chance on something completely new. Thanks for giving us the confidence to bring you bands you might not know and showing us you're into it. And thanks for supporting these dudes! We can't say enough great things about HASHTRONAUT, so we highly (get it?) encourage you to check them out if they're coming your way, it'll be worth your while and they sure as hell deserve it.

Catch HASHTRONAUT on tour in May (with more dates coming later this year):

May 9 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO
May 10 - Ace’s High Saloon - Salt Lake City, UT
May 11 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
May 12 - Substation - Seattle, WA
May 15 - High Water Mark - Portland, OR
May 16 - The Eagle - San Francisco, CA
May 17 - Mrs. Olsons - Oxnard, CA
May 18 - Til Two - San Diego, CA
May 19 - Redwood Bar & Grill - Los Angeles, CA
May 20 - The Dive Bar - Las Vegas, NV

And stay tuned for more killer heaviness to come, 'cause we're just getting warmed up!

The Blues Funeral Team

Hashtronaut "Rip Wizard" - Official Music Video

Ripple Music present the very first RIPPLEFEST VIRTUAL, an exclusive online festival special performances from HOWLING GIANT, HORSEBURNER and JAKETHEHAWK

Ripple Music present the very first RIPPLEFEST VIRTUAL, an exclusive online festival hosting special performances from HOWLING GIANT, HORSEBURNER and JAKETHEHAWK, taking place straight in your living room on Friday 18th December!

A magical evening, three bands that yearn for the golden days of live touring find themselves in a cyberscape of infinite possibility. Join us for this virtual bacchanal as Howling Giant, Horseburner, and Jakethehawk rekindle the riff and stoke the fires of friendship in a live experience unparalleled in the digital age. The RIPPLEFEST VIRTUAL live stream will start on Friday 18th December, 2020 at 7:00PM EST (01:00AM CET). This event is designed for you to move your coffee table out of the way and jump around your living room, so join the party and keep your screens ready! 
 

⚡️⚡️⚡️ RIPPLEFEST VIRTUAL ⚡️⚡️⚡️
Streaming from your living room on Friday 18th December!
Join the official Facebook event

JAKETHEHAWK - 07:00 PM EST (01:00 AM CET)

Formed in 2016, Jakethehawk has always sought to synthesize the classic, riff-centric sound of proto-metal’s pioneers with the textures of psychedelic rock and progressive rock. Additionally, heavy influence is drawn from the band’s home turf... both from the the lush, wooded river valley and from the rich tradition of folk music that still blossoms here. 
Facebook | Bandcamp

HORSEBURNER - 08:00 PM EST (02:00 AM CET)

Mountain-melting stoner metal from Parkersburg, USA. Stoner metal. Sludge. Doom. Call it what you will, Parkersburg, West Virginia's Horseburner creates riff-heavy rock n' roll to shake your insides.
Facebook | Bandcamp

HOWLING GIANT - 09:00 PM EST (03:00 AM CET)

Born out of some space fuzz chamber and dropped down on Nashville, Tennessee, Howling Giant’s form of metal is a unique and eclectic fairy tale trip through the stars.
Facebook | Bandcamp
 

The RippleFest Virtual show will be available on Ripple socials after the event.

Say Howling Giant: "We've been streaming on Twitch every week since August, and we wanted to bring our dearest friends into the fold. Both Jakethehawk and Horseburner are some of our favorite bands to play with live. Because of the wild ride that is 2020 we've all had to cancel many tour plans, so we were excited to reconnect with our comrades in a whole new live show experience that you can enjoy from your favorite couch or sitting apparatus."

"Even though 2020 has been awful and the future of live events is still hanging in the balance, one thing that continues to be awesome is music.  we miss playing in big rooms of people, but we're still fortunate to get to play with our best friends and I have just as much enthusiasm jamming with them as I do on a big stage.  The fact that we get to share this event with two of our favorite bands is really icing on the cake.  The fact that we can count the guys in those bands among our friends is extra icing.  Times are uncertain but I am infinitely grateful to be able to use the technology to hang with our friends and play for people" add Jakethehawk.

With over 1,000 fans attending RippleFests in Europe, UK, and USA, RIPPLE MUSIC intends to keep rocking in the free world and deliver the finest heavy music and some exciting rock'n'roll performances to fans across the globe. Known and revered worldwide for unearthing the finest bands in heavy rock, stoner, doom, 70s rock and metal since 2010, the Californian label is home to Wino, Tony Reed, Poobah, Wo Fat, Colour Haze and many more. Website⎪Facebook⎪Bandcamp

Horseburner - The Thief (Album Review)

Release date: August 2^nd 2019. Label: Ripple Music. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Canyons – Tracklisting

1.The Thief

2.A Joyless King

3.Drowning Bird

4.The Fisherman's Vow

5.Seas Between

6.Hand of Gold, Man of Stone

7.The Oak

8.Fathoms

9.Thiefsong

Members

Adam Nohe - Drums/Vocals

Jack Thomas - Guitar/Vocals

Seth Bostick - Bass

Zach Kaufman - Guitar

Review

Horseburner new album The Thief is an album that will appeal to fans of Baroness, Mastodon and Thin Lizzy. As the band play a highly progressive sound that pays homage to those great bands on this album whilst still forging ahead creating their own wildly addictive sound.

Opening song – The Thief – is a two-minute plus Psychedelic Sludge Rock song that shows you Horseburner mean business with this album. The song starts really slow before moving onto heavier progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs that sadly don’t stay around for long before the song ultimately end.

Second song – A Joyless King – opens with a classic Heavy Metal sound that has a slight NWOBHM feel but still sees the band playing a more modern sounding Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal atmosphere. The song has quite an adventurous and rebellious spirit that can be heard in the background. The album starts to weave an intriguing story with the almost “fantasy” based lyrics though it’s the music and fantastic vocals that save the day.

Third track – Drowning Bird – is a faster and more aggressive style of music that pays homage to Thin Lizzy in many ways. Fast-paced riffs and the classic sounding “Twin Guitars” working almost against each other than with each other. The vocals from insert name later are quite gloomy in places and matches the sombre mood the band create and play with their music. The second half of the song brings a frantic and almost Thrash delivery from the band.

Fourth song – The Fisherman’s View – opens with an eerie folk style guitar before the heavy sludgy grooves appear that bring a more destructive energy to play. The song benefits from top-notch vocals and OTT lyrics that prove Horseburner mean business with this album. Perhaps the heaviest song on the album with the band playing a wide range of different style of music that leaves you wanting more.

Fifth song – Seas Between – is another superbly played instrumental song that follows the same structure as the opening song The Thief. This song has a more personal and reflective feel compared to the other songs on the album.

The band don’t shy away in playing some of the heaviest moments on the second half of the album with Horseburner carry on playing their own hypnotic blend of Progressive Sludge/Stoner on great songs such as Insert Name Later, The Oak and Fathoms.

My only disappointment with the album is the choice of song the album ends with. Thiefsong is the final song and it’s not a bad song by any means. The album should have ended with something more substantial and heavier than Thiefsong. Though, that’s my only complaint with an otherwise outstanding album that’s brilliantly produced as well.

Horseburner have delivered the goods with The Thief and I can see why Ripple Music signed the band to their already impressive roster. Believe the hype with these guys. They’re the real deal and this album proves it time and time again.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. The Thief will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music from August 02nd 2019.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp