Band: BLACK HORIZON
Country: France
Title: Dark Light
Label: Pure Steel Publishing
Year: 2019
Style: Progressive Metal
Review:
They've labelled their music simply Heavy Metal, but what we get on Black Horizon's second full-length album is definitely not as simple as that and to be honest I'd place this new album more into the Progressive Metal category rather than Heavy Metal. Yes, it has serious Heavy Metal, Power Metal and even Thrash Metal influences, but the core I'd say it's Progressive Metal because. This is a band active in one form or another since 1991, and since 1998 activating under the current moniker, so they must have seen a lot along the years. This is my first encounter with their music, and as a first impression the vocals are the ones that make their mark at first, Alex Puiseux (who's a vocalist only since 2017, so he's not on the first album, The Choice from 2010) being an excellent frontman with his dramatic tone and wide range he manages to reach, he's maybe the major reason why I'm tempted to say this is more Prog Metal rather than anything else. But than there's the guitar work that ranges from powerful, to your face guitar riffs, kick-ass solos and tons of hooks to make each track stand apart from the others. The rhythms section is as steady and heavy as it can be, but at the same time there's a lot of experimentation on their side, definitely avoiding boredom at all times. I liked it a lot, it's not a groundbreaking album, but it's heartful, honest, professional and powerful enough to convince the listeners we're dealing here with a serious ensamble.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10