A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH — Lay My Soul To Waste (review)

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH — Lay My Soul To Waste album cover Album · 2013 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
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.
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