A Pale Horse Named Death is the brainchild of Sal Abruscato. Sound familiar? It should. This is the guy who founded Type O Negative with Peter Steele, played on the legendary Type O classic Bloody Kisses, and also manned the drums for Life of Agony. His resume speaks for itself and APHND is a culmination of everything that has come before, combined with a bit of something new.
APHND is also garnering quite a few comparisons to Alice in Chains and for good reason. Their latest album Lay My Soul to Waste is both melodic and heavy, and I mean HEAVY on the riffs. Abruscato’s vocals at times are very reminiscent of the late Layne Stayley, and that’s a good thing because it works. I always say the world could use more metal that can take on such a big sound and succeed, and APHND do it well.
Live, it’s even better though. Current Danzig drummer Johnny Kelly lays down the thunderous back bone and newcomer Matt Brown adds a layer of Les Paul expertise that really compliments Abruscato’s songwriting.
The track “The Needle in You” was a highlight of the evening along with “Shallow Grave,” and I was a bit surprised they didn’t play their current single and video “DMSTL.” Regardless, great show, great band, and I would love to see them play a longer set next time.
Next up: Butcher Babies. This is one of the most interesting metal bands I have seen in a while. It’s also one of the absolute heaviest, most brutal live shows ever.
Oh, and did I mention it’s fronted by two women who happen to be extremely attractive? Since it was Halloween night the band decided to swap genders, and I assure you that those beards are fake.
I love a good metal band, but I’m not even sure if you can call Butcher Babies metal. It might be more like some sort of hybrid fusion that no one has really done before.
I mean, they make Lamb of God sound like a pop band while at the same time adding a flavor of hardcore and punk that takes it up a notch—even the most extreme metal—up a notch. That’s fucking hard to do, and even harder to do well.
This is a great band where the live pictures tell the story here. I really thought they were fantastic and even put their album “Goliath” on repeat at the gym the other day. Beside the fact that I over-exerted myself and might have unknowingly fist pumped into the mirror once or twice, I think I will be listening to this one a few more times.
Check out their video for “Magnolia Blvd.” but don’t say that you haven’t been warned. And by the way, congrats to Butcher Babies for debuting number on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. That’s fucking hard to do these days as well.
A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH
BUTCHER BABIES
Check out more photos of the Butcher Babies here and more photos of A Pale Horse Named Death here.
