Palehørse

Finnish metal act Palehørse (formerly known as Amendfoil) are a 3-piece comprising of Lassi Mäki-Kala (vocals / guitar), Samu Honko (drums) and Ville Siivonen (bass). Accumulatively, the band have been making music together for over a decade.

Signed to a new label and, in April 2019, having released their self-titled debut album “Palehørse” to high acclaim, “Hunting Grounds” surpasses the normal level attributed to making a second album in terms of experience and musicianship. Having honed their craft over the years, they have been able to combine their extreme technical skills, raw energy, and artistic intuitions to produce a genre-defying album that hits all the right notes. Throughout the album, there are echoes of Metallica and countless alternative metal bands that have been influenced by them – namely System of a Down, Therapy? and Mastodon – “Hunting Grounds” is anything but typical for a heavy metal album. Palehørse have made the decision to take the genre into fresh and dynamic territory.

From the onset, Palehørse clearly wants to innovate and it is noticeable with some of their inventive design choices and stylistic flourishes. The simple piano intro on ‘Revival’ creates an eerie sense of mystery and intrigue, before hurtling into a wildly melodic guitar anthem. The use of multiple vocal harmonies and howling guitars on ‘Deathless Endeavour’ evokes a sense of impending carnage. ‘Magnetism’ shares a distorted bass and drums sound iconically used by Royal Blood and heightened by a sense of drama that resembles Muse at their peak. ‘Skeleton Shuteye’ starts with a riff like the intro to Bowling For Soup’s ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’! When Lassi turns his vocals up to 11 on ‘The Sweetest of Bloods’, ‘Revenant (Part I)’ and ‘Promised Land (Part II)’, you feel sonically elevated to a realm very few bands can attain. The album finishes with the uncompromising ‘Unravel’ hinting at a more experimental and progressive sound.

A band this well-formed could and should command a legion of fans. In my opinion, Palehørse are a metal band to watch out for.

Tracklist:
1. Revival
2. Deathless Endeavor
3. Magnetism
4. Skeleton Shuteye
5. The Sweetest Of Bloods
6. We Created This Silence
7. Aimless In Our Aim
8. Revenant (Part I)
9. Promised Land (Part II)
10. Unravel