This year for November, I wanted to start a new tradition for the blog. More specifically, I wanted to cover some records from the prior year. The stuff that I enjoyed quite a bit, but I didn’t want to cover every single album I listened to. To make things easier, I wanted to cover what my number one album of 2019 is, but before that I believe something from the honorable mentions portion of the list should start things off. For the honorable mention I’m covering, it’s a piece of music I may have judged too harshly. The music in question is from a band that carries on the spirit & tradition of one of the most iconic Gothic Metal bands to have ever existed, and they’ve done so incredibly well. So sit back, relax, and take a look at my review for A Pale Horse Named Death’s long awaited 3rd record, When The World Becomes Undone. Let’s begin.
Background
It’s 2014. It’s been a year since APHND second record, Lay My Soul To Waste, was released. Sal Abruscato rejoined his other side project, Life Of Agony, for a triumphant comeback tour and contributed musical arrangements on the 2017 album A Place Where There’s No More Pain. Meanwhile on the 23rd of December in 2017, a new album was in the works for A Pale Horse Named Death per the announcement on their twitter page. A year later on the 29th of January, it was announced on their website that Matt Brown and Johnny Kelly were going to be replaced. The new band members would come in the form of Joe Taylor (Lita Ford, Doro Pesch, Corey Glover & Cycle of Pain) & Tommy Spano (Corey Glover and Sekond Skyn) as the band’s new guitarist and drummer. On the 5th of April, 2018, the band signed a new deal with SPV records and that the new album would be released on the label's Long Branch Records imprint. It was also revealed in this announcement that Johnny Kelly has rejoined the band on drums. Fast forward to October the 24th, A Pale Horse Named Death announced that their first album in six years, titled When the World Becomes Undone, would be released on January 18, 2019.
The story of the album’s name is also interesting. Sal Abruscato said that the name came to him back in 2014 during the Life Of Agony tour. As he explains:
“You could see what was beginning to happen in the world at large. Just turn on the news or look around. At the same time, there were a lot of crazy things happening in my personal life. Those struggles all became fuel for the music. It was like I had this partial sketch a while ago, and we finally filled it out this year. It evolved into what we have here.”
As for the album concept, he said this in a Kerrang! interview:
“The album is very dark and depressing about personal things that have gone on in my life, too. It’s a conceptual ride about dark things that have gone on in my life. I try not to write too specifically, so people can interpret it into their own situations. The record goes on a long, tribal, funeral [sic], up-and-down kind of vibe. The first two singles were the most upbeat songs on the album; everything else just goes at a kill yourself tempo. By the end of the album, everything is so dark, that by the time you get to the closer, which is a recording of an actual outdoor funeral with a priest speaking over a casket, it takes you really down and dark. But, you also hear a bird singing in the background, which gives it a sense of enlightenment, of something to look forward to in the end. It’s a journey — I like things very cinematic and grand.”
Basic Description
Type-O Negative in body & spirit.
It’s genuinely incredible that a band has been able to effectively continue the legacy of an iconic band, but somehow A Pale Horse Named Death did it. Their first two releases certainly showed that the group was capable of conjuring up the sound & vibe of Pete Steele’s legacy, but it’s When The World Becomes Undone that proves that the band also managed to bring the soul of the Green Man into their work. This even includes how dark Type-O Negative can be, as things got personal on this release because of what Sal Abruscato was going through at the time. Strangely enough, the heavy emotional aspect of the album makes it more suited for this year than 2019. There’s enough creepy connections between this plague-ridden time and what on When The World Becomes Undone, that said connections are highly coincidental.....yet oddly welcome at the same time.
Best Track
Love The Ones You Hate was a smart choice as the first single off of this album. The band needed something to show off the fact that they returned to the scene, and it doesn’t disappoint! The song kind of reminds me of something that could have theoretically been on Slow Deep and Hard. It has far better production & recording behind it, but it’s got a similar vibe and pace when compared to some of the songs off of Type-O’s inaugural release. Great guitarwork, drumming, and vocal work from the entire band makes the song a perfect way to show the world that A Pale Horse Named Death is back.
Love The Ones You Hate
Worst Track
Like I said last year when I talked about this record in my honorable mentions section of my top 5 list last year, I mention that APHND seemed to be more like a Grunge group experimenting with Gothic Metal than a actual Goth Metal band. After listening to it more closely this time around, I realized that was a rush of judgement thanks mostly to the comments in the album’s first single. That being said, I can at least understand why some would say that. A couple of the songs definitely have a Grunge vibe at the very least, and a little bit of Grunge instrumentation as well. As for the weak descriptor I gave it.....yeah, I don’t know why I did.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
When The World Becomes Undone
Overall Impression & Rating
When The World Becomes Undone was a long awaited album from a band that carried on the mission of one of the world’s most iconic Gothic Metal bands. They may have stepped outside the boundaries of their turf a little, but at the end of the day delivered another slice of Gothic Metal perfection. When The World Becomes Undone is a damn fine release, and like I said earlier, fits disturbingly well in 2020. If you haven’t checked the album out already, then do so when you have the chance. You won’t be disappointed!
When The World Becomes Undone gets a 9 out of 10.
And that was When The World Becomes Undone. Again, the album fits eerily well within 2020, and maybe it should have been released this year instead of 2019. Always, with this honorable mention out of the way, it’s time to take a look at my number 1 album of last year, so join me a little later this month when we’ll examine what was perhaps one of the most highly anticipated releases of the 2010s. See you soon!
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