UMUR "Infernum in Terra" is the 4th full-length studio album by US alternative/doom/goth metal act A Pale Horse Named Death. The album was released through Long Branch Records in September 2021. It´s the successor to "When The World Becomes Undone" from 2019 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Eric Morgan has been replaced by Oddie McLaughlin and drummer Johnny Kelly has been replaced by Chris Hamilton. The remaining part of the lineup who recorded the predecessor is intact, including band founder/lead vocalist/guitarist Sal Abruscato. The latter is known as the original drummer in both Type O Negative and Life of Agony.

Stylistically the material on "Infernum in Terra" continue the heavy (even doomy at times) and dark alternative rock/metal style of the preceding releases. One shot heavy and groove laden Black Sabbath riffing and one shot melancholic, heavy, and laid back Alice in Chains influence. A Pale Horse Named Death don´t exactly reach the compositional heights or the unique sound of their influences, but they are skilled musicians and the songs are generally well composed, relatively memorable, and well produced too. So fans of heavy, melacholic, and dark heavy rock/metal may find this an enjoyable listen. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "When The World Becomes Undone" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US alternative/doom/goth metal act A Pale Horse Named Death. The album was released through Long Branch Records in January 2019. It´s the successor to "Lay My Soul To Waste" from 2013 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Matt Brown has been replaced by Joe Taylor. A Pale Horse Named Death was formed in 2010 by former Type O Negative and Life of Agony drummer Sal Abruscato, who has switched to vocals and guitar on this project. The Type O Negative connection has been further strengthened with the addition of the other former Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly to the ranks.

Stylistically the material on "When The World Becomes Undone" features heavy riffs and rhythms, which partially fall in doom metal territory and partially fall in alternative metal country (think Black Sabbath meets Alice In Chains). The vocals are melancholic and there is a generally dark atmosphere to the album. In other words "When The World Becomes Undone" continues the style and sound of the two predecessors. It´s pretty basic vers/chorus structured songs, and the songwriting isn´t exactly adventurous, but there are some fairly memorable moments on the album. Featuring 13 tracks and total playing time of 61:59 minutes, it´s a bit too long for its own good, and definitely overstays its welcome by about 20 minutes. The album could have been much stronger if A Pale Horse Named Death had cut some of the least memorable tracks from the tracklist and had only released the best tracks on a 40 minutes long album.

"When The World Becomes Undone" features a decent sounding production, which suits the material well, and the musicianship is pretty strong too, although Abruscato isn´t a particularly strong or distinct sounding singer. So decent sized checkmarks to those features. It´s the songwriting which doesn´t reach more than standard heights and regarding the development of style and sound it´s like the band are treading waters. It´s more of the same, and it would have been nice to hear something a little different. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "And Hell Will Follow Me" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New York based alternative rock/metal act A Pale Horse Named Death. The album was released through SPV in June 2010. A Pale Horse Named Death was founded by former Type O Negative and Life of Agony drummer Sal Abruscato, who plays guitars and drums on the album. But maybe more worth a mention he performs lead vocals on the album too. Abruscato soon teamed up with Matt Brown (Seventh Void) who plays guitars and bass on the album. There are guest appearences on the album by artists like Keith Caputo (Life of Agony) and Bobby Hambel (White Devil, Biohazard), but "And Hell Will Follow Me" was predominantly recorded by the core two-piece of Sal Abruscato and Matt Brown.

The music on the album is melancholic, heavy, and dark alternative rock/metal. To my ears it´s strongly influenced by Alice in Chains, both when it comes to the vocals and the vocal melodies and but also when it comes to the heavy riffs and the generally dark atmosphere of the music. The delivery is relatively strong although Sal Abruscato´s vocals are occasionally a bit shaky (especially on "Cracks in the Walls"). Other times he sounds great though. The lyrical content is despressive and bleak, which song titles like "As Black As My Heart", "To Die In Your Arms" and "Die Alone" bear witness too. There are a couple of drug related lyrics on the album too in "Heroine Train" and "Pill Head". I have a slight issue with the sometimes badly written and quite frankly cringe worthy lyrics, which is a bit of a shame considering the generally brilliant lyrics written by Abruscato´s two previous acts. It´s pretty obvious he wasn´t the lyricist in those acts.

The material are generally well written though and most tracks are quite catchy and memorable. The vers/chorus structures, which they seldom break out of, are a bit generic to my ears but it´s not a major issue. The sound production is professional and powerful and "And Hell Will Follow Me" is upon conclusion a decent enough debut album. It lacks the last spark to hit the major leagues but fans of melancholic, heavy, and dark alternative rock/metal should find lots to enjoy here. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Lay My Soul To Waste" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US alternative metal act A Pale Horse Named Death. The album was released through Steamhammer/SPV Records in May 2013. Since the release of "And Hell Will Follow Me (2010)", A Pale Horse Named Death have grown more into a regular band than the more project-like status of the duo lineup that recorded most of the debut album. A Pale Horse Named Death was founded by former Type O Negative and Life of Agony drummer Sal Abruscato, who plays guitars and performs lead vocals on "Lay My Soul To Waste" and guitarist/backing vocalist Matt Brown (Seventh Void). New members since the debut album are (another) former Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly, bassist Eric Morgan and lead guitarist Eddie Heedles.

The music on the album pretty much continues the melancholic, dark and heavy alternative metal style that was introduced on the debut album. References to Type O Negative, Paradise Lost and especially Alice in Chains are valid. The vocals and the vocal harmonies sometimes sound more like vintage Alice in Chains, than contemporary Alice in Chains do themselves. The occasional goth element brings on the Paradise Lost reference while some of the most doomy atmospheric parts nod towards Type O Negative. The band are generally well playing and Sal Abruscato has a nice range and a convincing delivery. He can sing both emotional like he does in "Dead of Winter", intense and melodic like he does in "Shallow Grave" and aggressive like he does in "Killer by Night".

The sound production is powerful and professional too and the songwriting on a relatively high level. I say "relatively", because I do feel that "Lay My Soul To Waste" is mared by the same issue that also mared "And Hell Will Follow Me (2010)", and that´s badly written lyrics. It´s not always an issue I can´t work around when listening to the album, but sometimes the lyrics are really cringe worthy. They certainly don´t appear to be written by a man in his fourties. A 3.5 star (70%) is still deserved though.

adg211288 Lay My Soul to Waste (2013) is the second full-length album to be released by US alternative metal act A Pale Horse Named Death. Since the release of And Hell Will Follow Me (2010) the band has expanded their line-up into a full band rather than the duo that recorded the debut.

A Pale Horse Named Death seems to be pegged as a gothic metal band on many sources I’ve looked at prior to writing this review. It could be a logical assumption I guess, given that the band has a minor connection to gothic legends Type O Negative in that frontman Sal Abruscato was the drummer for Type O Negative until 1994, but the music on Lay My Soul to Waste is much closer to alternative metal than gothic metal. There are elements of doom metal to be found, but for the most part A Pale Horse Named Death have put together an album here that is reminiscent of Alice in Chains.

There are more similarities than not to that legendary band, but also some differences that keep A Pale Horse Named Death’s sound from being a total copy. There are for a start those doom metal elements I mentioned, which can mostly be heard in Day of the Storm, but more often you’ll hear a heavier, rougher, more modern take on alternative metal than anything Alice in Chains have ever recorded. The differences are a good thing, not least because A Pale Horse Named Death are dropping the album only a week apart from Alice in Chains’ own 2013 effort The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, but also because they’re able to stand up as a band who’ll hold appeal to Alice in Chains fans, without necessarily making them think A Pale Horse Named Death are a rip off act.

The writing on the album is solid but not remarkable. A Pale Horse Named Death have some way to go before they’ll match the very best work of Alice in Chains. The writing is quite varied though which keeps the album an interesting listen throughout, ranging from the songs that sound like they’re from a lost Alice in Chains album, to more aggressive numbers like Devil Came With a Smile. Shallow Grave and Killer by Night quickly assert themselves as album highlights but I also have to bring attention to ballad Dead of Winter, a surprisingly simplistic sounding song featuring an acoustic approach with little else going on save for the vocals, but it’s hauntingly beautiful.

Lay My Soul to Waste has been an enjoyable experience for me, and I expect it will for any other fan of Alice in Chains. It’s not close to a masterpiece, and there are a few songs here that could have used some refining before being committed to record, but the album is generally solid with a couple of highlights that show their potential for future successes. A great album tier rating is deserved.

79/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/a-pale-horse-named-death-lay-my-soul-to-waste-t2992.html)