Sudden Death, the sixth album from Swedish quintet Horisont, delivers on their promise of “better, harder, faster, higher.”
Release Date: 15th May 2020
Label: Century Media
Formats: CD / DL / LP / Limited CD Box Set
Those familiar with Horisont will recognise how their signature sound harks back to the dim, distant and slightly damp 70s. A time when hard rock and prog rose to redefine the cutting edge of popular music. It might be a retro trip, but one where tongue is firmly in cheek from the quintet who tag themselves as “big of moustache and tight of trouser” (sounding all very Blackadder).
The new album though might bear relatively few of those hallmarks. The hit of The Beatles/Jeff Lynne/ELO pop sensibilities is apparent from the opening Revolution.
Things get interesting with the dash and bravado in Free Riding. A a rolling piano line leads where the retro and vintage direction gets a huge kick in the pants and into a more contemporary channelling. Mid song they’re off in a different direction
reminded of some of the classic seventies rock outfits – Be Bop Deluxe spring to mind with the guitar lines in Pushing The Line and I can’t help but hear Toto’s Hold The Line in one part of Into The Night. New wave-y and punk-y arrangements with their edges smoothed run into songs that deliver a chunky rock and roll with polished harmonies and then something that could easily be from an eighties keyboard-based Rush song. Sudden Death might sound quite an ominous title, but it delivers get jamboree bag of mixed
All is rounded off with an end piece that runs past the eight-minute barrier, Archaeopteryx In Flight, which is the band’s bigger progressive statement. An instrumental showcase that rattles along at full throttle with a relaxed and languid play out.
In other news, the band have announced a very special evening captured via a live stream from Gothenburg’s Pustervik. The event will be opened by Gothenburg based band SPIDERS starting at 9 pm CET on May 16th. Horisont will play at 10 pm CET and will answer questions during the changeover and after the show. There will also be 100 limited shirts available for purchase and donations can be made to the bands as well as the popular venue.
The show will be live streamed through the band’s YouTube page on May 16th : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6_jxLhcfTOj3Elxpe7ifqg
The band comments: “All is not to shit with the world. In times like these, things just have to be handled a bit differently. When life hands you lemons and so on… So instead of showing you all our ugly faces in your town, we are broadcasting a worldwide live concert from our favourite venue, Pustervik in Gothenburg. We will have excellent support in the form of SPIDERS. The concert will be free of charge but an option to donate some change both to us and/or Pustervik will be made available to viewers to keep the rock scene going during these testing times.“
Listen to Runaway here:
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