#21 - Top of 2017

Below - Upon a Pale Horse (Metal Blade Records)

On number 21, another entry from Sweden (which had an amazing year music-wise) with the second full length album from Below. The record oozes an epic doom vibe that is perfectly portrayed by both the title and the cover art that set the tone before the dark intro song "The Plague Within" starts! The heavy riffs and the high-pitched theatrical vocals by the band's lead singer Zeb in "Disappearing into Nothing" is followed by an amazing guitar solo interlude that are reminiscent of Candlemass (with Messiah). The guitar-based "The Coven" adds some heavier tones and more awesome guitars by Berg and Paud while the title song "Upon a Pale Horse" reaching at over 9 minutes (as it should) is definitely the highlight track starting with creepy narration from Alan Averill of Primordial (!) that lead to an amazingly creepy chorus and heavy drumming by Doc! "Suffer in Silence" further showcases Zeb's incredible vocal abilities combining doom with Queensryche vibes before ending with some great acoustic guitars to transition to the epic-heavy "Hours of Darkness".  The headbanging "1000 Broken Bones" is full of blasting drumming and the heavy-metal "We Are All Slaves" flawlessly wraps up the album. Upon a Pale Horse is an amazing heavy doom record from a band that definitely has a lot to offer in the future!


93.5/100

Below is the music video for "Disappearing into nothing".