Pulled Apart by Horses – S/T

Not a black metal album

I’m back. I have fought the plague that is Swine Flu and survived. I wrestled the virus and won. It took me two weeks of sweating, snotting and lying about like a opium addict but I did it. The worst thing? Not being able to listen to music. The very thought of any kind of sound in my ears made me feel queasy.

To maintain thematic integrity, I should post about Pig Destroyer or some other porcine referencing record. However, the thought of grindcore right now is akin to drilling holes in my eardrums, however cool the artwork.

Instead, I fired up Spotify in the office and clicked on the first album in my starred list. In this case, Pulled Apart by Horses. I have no memory of starring it (inebriated music site surfing? Who knows…) but in the absence of anything prevailing musical trend on MDG this week, I thought why not?

I fully expected to dislike it. I generally don’t like jagged, angular guitars and any kind of post-punk influence – which is what I was thought I was in for. That jazz just leaves me cold.

However, some occasionally beefy riffs and old school metallic, even doomy, breakdowns abound – even to the point of recalling Black Sabbath. Add to this some dashes of catchy melody along with cheeky time signature changes and a sense of humour and you can forgive the sometimes overly simplistic punky guitar and sneering American-tinged vocals from the Leeds, UK outfit.

In short, pleasantly surprised and a serendipitously successful return to the musical fold. Happy New Year everyone.