5 out of 5

Label: Sixwix

Produced by: Myke Pelly (mixed by)

Massive. The unholy birth of Killing Joke post-rock stomp and Dazzling Killmen punk, cut with Nine Inch Nails’ progressive industrial and spiced with White House noise. Got it? Okay, you like brutal things, so you’re intrigued, but now set those references aside: moments in to Haunted Horses’ Dead Meat, you know this group has cooked up its own thing.

Grounded around a throbbing low end, burly guitars, and the perpetually pissed and / or disgusted vocals snarling at us, this very pressing combination is then elevated to the next level by… giving the listener space. Via ambient interludes, samples to break up the vocals, and a keen ear for when to divert from the music’s omnipresent stomp, Haunted Horses manage to make tunes that are as fun as they are vicious; challenging in their construction – the album starts in a squall of noise before jumping right in to one of the more fast-paced tunes – but always rewarding your interest with some payoff: a swelling conclusion, or perhaps a fantastic break-in of melody.

The production props things up perfectly: the group has a sound halfway between digital and analog, where krautrock beats prove to be a human drummer, or the razor-edge guitar crunch is granted some warmth. And the masking of the vocals behind a layer of fuzz has a black metal effect, masking lyrics that could probably never provide the level of doom and gloom the vibe of the music creates.

Dead Meat is an album that works at both the macro and micro levels, instantly announcing itself and its intentions, and making each moment worthwhile as you journey from start to finish. You never doubt that this sound could fill up and shake a stadium, but it’s also very immediate: a show played very purposefully for you.