While in today’s world the term ‘vintage’ can mean any year from 1990 or earlier, the true vintage years still rely on the 1960s and ’70s era. Sometimes, in terms of music and fashion, the vintage feel or look can be successfully re-created in modern way with a zest that grabs attention. For the last decade only, Gothenburg Sweden’s original Hard Rock band Horisont has doing just that in a very unique way.
Now, following the success of 2017’s About Time, and thanks to diligent work, they are set to return on Friday, May 15th with their new album Sudden Death via Century Media Records. Maintaining a consist lineup – Axel on vocals, Charles and David on guitar, Magnus on bass, along with Pontus on drums – Horisont have created quite a buzz.
So, what does Sudden Death have to offer? In enough words, it is a very retro Rock collection mixed with some Space/ Progressive Rock sounds. A good combination, because Horisont is excellent at capturing the essence of a ’70s band, these fresh tunes can also resonate with modern ears thanks to unique compositional arrangements.
Starting off the thirteen tracks with a positive vibe is “Revolution”; which is ironic because the album is called Sudden Death. Ignoring the title of the record for a moment, picture a world full of depth, but with the most uplifting care-free visions in mind. Drawing it out a bit more, imagine dancing around an open field of green with beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, birds singing a happy tune, and that is what this album entails. Which leads us to “Free Riding,” a song with well-produced clean vocals harmonized perfectly with running melodies.
Moving on, “Pushing The Line” has a very catchy feeling that would work magically as a live tune. This is while “Standing Here” offers an adorable tale of yearning for someone. Possessing a slightly deeper tone that teases ballad territory, it is enhanced with some excellently timed tambourine. As we know, timing is everything, and Horisont is king at controlling it as displayed on the escapism piece “Runaway.”
While it may seem obvious, often it is underappreciated that this Swedish band can easily transition from English to Swedish. This is the case with the somber “Gråa Dagar,” which translates to “Gray Days.” Furthermore, “Sail On” offers creative drumming, “Breaking The Chains” excels with simplified lyrics, and a dynamic piano intro on “Hold On” provides further listening pleasure. To wrap up the tail end of the album you have the eight minute gem “Arcaeopteryx In Flight,” a title which really speaks for itself. Bringing you out of that dream, “Reign Of Madness” is a speedier more Hard Rock driven tune before the retro Rock anthem “White Light” wraps up the journey on happy note.
It really can not be expressed enough how Horisont offers so much musically while never becoming too repetitive. As a whole, there is a very exploratory range on Sudden Death, but it never strays far from sounding like Horisont. In other terms, it acts likes a complete, unified, and sophisticated vintage inspired summer fashion collection. All these factors in place, and while Horisont has become fairly successfully, they still seem to be a touch underrated. Just waiting to be discovered by more ears, Cryptic Rock gives Sudden Death 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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