AUDREY HORNE – No Hay Banda

No, we’re not talking about Sherilyn Fenn’s character in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks here, but about a Norwegian band that, quite out of the blue, managed to reach #16 on Norway’s best selling singles list in January this year with their hit “Confessions & Alcohol.” Not only were they unknown to most people, they were also playing Heavy Metal, which is not an everyday experience!

Since then, they have been heavily promoted both on Norwegian TV, newspapers, and radio by their label, DogJob(Tuba Records), and finally this month they released their first record called No Hay Banda, and during the month of May 2005 their album will be released all over Europe.

Audrey Horne are being compared with bands like Faith No More and Alice In Chains, and no wonder, singer Torschie sounds scarily like deceased Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, which is no a bad start at all! For a long time now, Heavy Metal music influences from the 1980’s have been the big thing, and now even the 1990’s is considered retro and is coming back in a big way!

The band’s debut album No Hay Banda has 11 tracks and they have been lucky enough to get Joe Barresi to produce this album. Barresi is formerly known for working with huge bands like QOTSA, Tool, Foo Fighters, Limp Bizkit, etc. This is a quality production and this sound is extremely rare by Norwegian standards. It goes to show that people are putting money into this band, and Audrey Horne means business.

Already during the first song, “Dead,” you can hear the “American” sound. Torschie, the singer, has an amazing voice and an exceptional gift of being able to vary his voice, going from almost “metallic” talking, to whispering, to shouting out from the top of his lungs. Of course, some sound effects on the vocal tracks have been added as well. Track 2, “Listening,” is one of the songs heard on TV-commercials in Norway. It’s a more catchy tune and easy on the ears. Great teamwork between the guitars and bass on this one as well. “Listening” is just one of the songs on this album that could be their next big hit.

And if the next big hit is not “Listening,” then maybe it will be “Deathhorse.” You can’t be sure exactly what that the title means, but it sounds good, it’s very Alice in Chains-ish, and it has that special “thing” about it. That “thing” is hard to put your finger on, but when the song almost gives you goosebumps, you just know it’s there! Another great effect on this song is when you hear guitars in one ear (or speaker) and the rest of the music in the other.

Another song that needs to be mentioned is “Blackhearted Visions,” an almost Punk-sounding tune, very up-paced, and this just shows the band’s variation musically. Formerly these guys have played in bands like Gorgoroth, Enslaved, and Red Leader, and have lots of musical experience prior to joining together in 2002.

Despite their hard style, they have managed to squeeze in the beautiful calm song “Bleed.” The song starts of as a ballad and ends in despair.

Basically, the quality and ingenuity of the songs on this album are above average, and should you only buy one Norwegian album per year, then Audrey Horne’s No Hay Banda would be an excellent choice!