Hailing from Denmark, this 5 piece sludge/stoner/doom band who were originally named Dodning are a band that people need to check out if you are a fan of any of sludge stuff. Ranging from influences from Down, Crowbar and even some Corrosion Of Conformity, add a little Black Sabbath (like who isn’t influenced by them!) and what you have is a band with some mighty heavy grooves as we found out in our review.
The self titled album is as you would expect it to be when you hear the references to bands such as Down, Orange Goblin and Black Sabbath that have been attached to HelHorse’s sound. It’s hard not to think of any of those bands but being a fan of the genre, that’s not exactly a bad thing. The opening track is a groove based number that reminds me a lot of Corrosion Of Conformity, the later stuff not their hardcore/punk era stuff. Though that being said, Helhorse do have punk rock rooted in their history so it’s not that far removed from original sound.
More of that consistent mid-tempo groove based sludgey sound can be found in tracks like “Among The Wolves” which has a great opening riff and “The Blood Boiler” which has a cool Black Sabbath inspired main riff, the bass line in the opening sequence stands out a lot as it helps drive the song. It’s not all sludge metal here though, “Fortune Favors The Bold” mellows out a little here and has an almost alternative rock sound to it though it does get heavier towards then end. “Hell Of A Ride” is a stand out track, Clutch inspired groove beat, a meaty riff that hooks you along and again, a bass line with some muscle that pushes the track to what is one of the best moments on the album.
For a more traditional sound, “My Haven / Your Hell” screams of that dirty raw guitar driven rock that is bluesy in it’s swaggery tone and swings along nicely. It’s a surprise track given that the rest of the album fits more on the heavier side of things but if you want heavy, “Raise The Black Flag” riffs along in a bit of hardcore mode. “No Fucks Given” reminds me of Zakk Wylde’s Sabbathy type riffs but with a lot of melody too, it’s a groove laden rocker that ends the album perfectly. This Danish band has a few albums under the belt now and this album shows no stopping from it’s take on sludge/doom metal.
TRACKLIST
Carry Your Own
Among The Wolves
Fortune Favours The Bold
I
The Blood Boiler
Hell Of A Ride
II
Raise The Black Flag
III
My Haven / Your Hell
No Fucks Given
