Horisont “Scores” Another Hit With Its Sixth Album, ‘Sudden Death’

Courtesy: Century Media Records

Audiences waiting to get their hands on Horisont’s latest album are going to have to wait a little bit longer.  The band announced Thursday through its official Facebook page, that delivery of the 13-song album – its sixth album – has been delayed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.  While audiences wait to receive the album in its physical form, it will still be available to download starting Friday through all digital retail outlets.  The hour-long record is a strong new offering from the band that audiences will agree was worth the more than three year wait to receive.  That is proven through the album’s musical arrangements and lyrical content.  Hearing the album’s musical content is like unearthing a time capsule that is loaded with rock records right out of the 1970s while the lyrical content offers its own appeal, too.  Each item will be addressed here.  They are just two of the items that make the album stand out.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements.  Each item noted here plays its own key role in the overall presentation of Sudden Death.  All things considered, they make Sudden Death another win for Horisont.

Horisont’s sixth full-length studio recording Sudden Death is astrong new offering from the veteran neo-classic rock quintet.  It is a work that classic rock fans and neo-classic rock fans will appreciate just as much as Horisont’s established fan base.  That is due in part to the musical arrangements that make up the record’s body.  As noted, putting this album in and listening to it is like unearthing a time capsule from days gone by and pulling out a group of classic vinyls untouched for so many decades.  The guitar-driven arrangements show clear influences from bands, such as Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas and even Rush to a lesser degree.  That sound is driven not just through the instrumentation, but also the actual production process for the record.  Audiences will note in listening to this record that the general effect in listening is like listening to something that would have been right from that bygone era.  It has all of that fuzz sound, instead of a spit-shined clean sound in every performance.  The drums themselves sound like they had heads that were right from that age, too.  It is a very distinct sound in comparison to the sound that drums put out today.  What’s really interesting is that the album’s opener, ‘Revolution’ actually lends itself to comparisons to works from John Lennon and Abba of all acts, with its piano line, choral vocal work and guitars.  Considering this, the other elements noted and the other musical influences and elements presented throughout this album, it becomes clear that the musical arrangements form a strong foundation for this work.  That foundation is in itself, more than enough reason to applaud the album, and is just one of the reasons that the LP works as well as it does.  The album’s lyrical content adds even more interest to its presentation.

The lyrical themes featured throughout the album are just as diverse as the record’s musical content.  ‘Standing Here’ comes across as one of those familiar songs about perhaps a broken relationship.  The song’s subject asks the other person at one point in the song, “What did I do to hurt you?”  Considering that earlier in the song, there was mention of the two people basically running off together, but then it would seem that something went awry along the way.  The relationship went sour it would seem.  Not having a lyrics sheet to reference makes the task of deciphering the album’s lyrics somewhat difficult, but just enough is decipherable that it can be guessed that a song, such as ‘Breaking The Chain,’ which comes late in the album’s run, is a coming-of-age sort of story in its lyrical content.  There is the mention of “when is it a good time to break the chain.”  There are also the mentions by the song’s subject early on, telling someone else not to worry about him.  Later in the song, there is a mention by the song’s subject that the subject’s father will not be a certain way to him anymore.  To that end, this would seem to support the inference that the song is focused on the matter of someone growing up and becoming his own person.  Again, that is just this critic’s interpretation.  ‘Free Riding’ is another example of the diversity in the record’s lyrical themes.  Thankfully, lyrics were found for this work.  The lyrics, found at genius.com, seem to hint at a theme of not giving up in life.  That is inferred through all three of the song’s verses.  Considering this, the rest of the seeming themes addressed here and the rest of the record’s lyrical themes, it is shown that the album’s lyrical content does in fact provide its own share of interest for audiences as the album’s musical content.  The two sides together make for plenty of reason for audiences to give this record at least one listen.  They are not its only notable items.  Its sequencing rounds out its most important elements.

Sudden Death’s sequencing is notable in that it has just as much impact on the album’s impact as the record’s music and lyrics.  The first half of the record maintains a relatively stable mid-tempo feeling.  Things don’t change any until more than halfway through the record in ‘Graa Dagar.’  Roughly translated, that title means ‘Gray Days.’  It is a stark departure from the vibe in the record’s first half.  It makes for a good break from that higher energy that keeps things interesting for listeners.  The album’s second half is somewhat slower than its first half, but not as slow and reserved as ‘Gray Days.’  Compared to the record’s first half, though, the tempo and sound is distinctly different.  That variance between the record’s first and second halves, and that break in the “middle” does its own share to keep the record interesting in terms of the record’s aesthetics.  Keeping that in mind, it clearly is important in its own way to the album.  When it is considered along with the album’s musical and lyrical content, the end result is a work that the noted target audiences will agree is another victory for Horisont.

Horisont’s latest album Sudden Death is a positive new effort from the band that classic rock fans, those of the neo-classic rock movement and those of Horisont alike will appreciate.  That is due in part to the variety of musical arrangements that make up the record’s body.  The lyrical themes that accompany the songs add their own interest and will generate plenty of discussion among the noted audiences.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements, doing its own part to maintain the noted engagement and entertainment among audiences.  All three items are important in their own way to the whole of the album.  All things considered, these items make Sudden Death a win for Horisont.  The album drops Friday.  More information on Sudden Death is available along with all of Horisont’s latest news at:

 

 

 

Website: http://www.horisontmusic.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/horisontmusic

 

 

 

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