2020
In just a few short years, Florida 4 piece Horsewhip have quickly made a name for themselves as one of the most exciting heavy bands in the region. While a band boasting members of legendary Florida bands Combatwoundedveteran and Reversal Of Man already indicates you're in for something special, the band managed to shatter high expectations with their crushing self titled release from 2018 and their intense and cathartic live performances. It should come as no surprise that "Laid To Waste" shows the band growing into an even more unstoppable force, building upon everything that's made them turn heads these past few years and pushing forward to a new high watermark for the band and the heavy music scene in Florida in general.
Photo by: Matt Valler
Right from the opening screams and chaotic metallic hardcore of "Stillborn" through to the end of the record, it's incredibly clear and evident that Horsewhip are not fucking around. Relentless and bursting with energy and urgency, the 11 songs on this album leave little breathing room aside from a few ambient interludes between tracks. You can hear tinges of the classic bands the members hail from, as well as touches of classic crust/hardcore bands such as His Hero Is Gone and Union Of Uranus in the band's sound. However, not content to be a throwback band by any means, the band continually pushes the envelope of their sound to punishing new sonic territory, pushing out some of the most intense chaotic hardcore that you're going to hear in 2020 or any other year for that matter. Recorded by Jeremy SH Griffith at local St. Pete studio Rock Garden and mastered by the one and only Jack Shirley (Comadre, Deafheaven, Gulch), The engineering and mixing of the record kicks everything up a notch, matching the organic intensity and crafting of these songs with the perfect production to match it.
Photo by: Matt Valler
In the 3 years that Horsewhip has been a band, they've made large strides to become one of the most beloved bands in the Florida punk/metal scene and beyond, and Laid To Waste is most certainly an album that will take them to another level and solidify their place as one of the best currently doing it both locally and regionally. It's an outstanding achievement and one of the best heavy records to come out this year, with blast after blast of stunning chaotic hardcore that only digs it's way further inside your head with each repeat listen. It's a musical statement from a band that's firing on all cylinders, clearly dedicated to their craft and clearly determined to turn heads. A truely incredible record and a high watermark for heavy records in 2020, one that I can't possibly recommend more for fans of the aforementioned genres.
Stream "Intertia Waits" via Youtube Below:
