Let’s get something straight here; we are big fans of big riffs here at Already Heard so it’s a real pleasure to hear some behemoth sized riffs on the new mini album from Scarborough’s Horse In Transit.
Mini-album ‘If I Were A God’ opens with the explosive ‘Lucky Strike’, a brutal assault on the senses. It’s ballsy as hell and gets things off to a strong start. At the same time as being technically proficient the track is incredibly catchy and melds the more traditional aspects of hardcore with an undercurrent of the more traditional metalcore sound and it works really well.
Third track ‘Chicken Run’ offers more of the same really and contains all of the usual tempo changes, breakdowns and even gang-vocals. That’s not to say it’s a bad track at all, far from it. It’s our preferred track from the mini-album. It sounds a lot like a more melodic Feed The Rhino, it’s heavy as can be without sacrificing any of the melody and all in all the track is a great balance.
The shortest and perhaps most intense track on ‘If I Were A God’ is ‘Two’ and clocks in at a just over a minute and a half long. It’s straight up hardcore and everything has been thrown into the mix. Coming across like a less shoe gaze version of Bastions, it’s wall-to-wall stuff.
Penultimate track ‘I Am’ sounds like a battle between two vocalists. It’s by far the most technical of tracks on ‘If I Were A God’ and the impressive guitar work sounds like that of The Dillinger Escape Plan. The dual vocals work really well, and so adds another level of depth to the track. At times dual vocals can sound messy but in this instance they work in unity and produce a really interesting listening experience.
Closing track ‘Survival Plan’ is the black sheep of the family, it’s nothing like any of the other tracks at all. It’s more of a melodic hardcore song and contains actual singing and let’s not forget those riffs, the delightfully chunky as hell riffs that are a staple throughout.
It’s a testament to the bands ability at being able to blend a variety of musical styles over the course of these 6 tracks whilst seamlessly remaining a hardcore band. It’s a short offering but these six tracks contain a great blend of traditional sounds with the more modern offerings and Horse in Transit certainly know how to effortlessly fuse styles together.
The UK boasts an incredible hardcore scene right now and we definitely think that ‘If I Were A God’ will put Horse in Transit on many hardcore fans’ radar.
3/5
‘If I Were A God’ by Horse In Transit is out now on Mercurial Records.
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Words by Colin Henderson (@colinah87)
