HORSEMAN – Of Hope, Freedom And Future

Eschewers of the Oxford comma Horseman ride forth with their third album Of Hope, Freedom And Future, a twelve track sucker punch slab of Thrash Groove Metal. With a sound that is initially reminiscent of later Testament and Shadows Fall but slathered with a fair amount of Groove icing atop and between the layers, Of Hope, Freedom and Future delivers a kick that has elements of classic Thrash but presented in a thoroughly modern context. After the brief titular instrumental intro, the band launches into “A Thousand Wars”, a complex, multi-part track that effectively showcases the strengths of the band at all positions.

“A Thousand Wars” kicks off an aural assault that just doesn’t let up until halfway through the record; follow-ups “Hunters”, “See Me Hanging” and “The Monsters I Feel” are all scorchers. There’s a brief reprieve with “Die Gedanken Sind Frei”, a thirty second snip of a child singing a German folk song, the title of which translated to English is “Thoughts Are Free”. While the downshift might give listeners a chance to catch their breath, the brief track lends an element of ominous creepiness that sets up the frenetic “Teach Them To Question”, a catchy blaster with a sing-a-long (or-scream-along) chorus.

“Teach Them To Question” forms a sort of thematic triptych along with “Die Gedanken Sind Frei” and the following instrumental “An Open Mind Breaks Down Walls”. Penultimate track “The Final Dance” is a exhilarating Thrash workout that has the band slamming through multiple gears; pulling listeners right into a mental mosh pit that will leave them exhausted yet wanting more…which they will get with epic closer “Shellshock”. And then again as they play the entire album a second time as soon as it ends.

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