13th Floor New Song Of The Day: Spook The Horses – Self Destroyer

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Here’s something to get you out of bed on a Saturday morning…new music from Wellington’s Spook The Horses.

No, this ain’t Americana. This six-piece rocks relentlessly. Self Detroyer is the first track to emerge from their upcoming album, Empty Body. Here’s the record company blurb:

Atmospheric metal titans Spook the Horses release new single Self Destroyer today, a brooding slice of their anticipated new album Empty Body.

The Wellington six-piece have steadily built a reputation for visually remarkable and immersive live performances, and Self Destroyer is released with a music video showcasing their trademark visuals, designed by artist and visual effects designer Max Telfer, the band’s sixth member and secret weapon.

Having played support slots for international acts such as Supported Neurosis, Kylesa, The Ocean, Rosetta and Ulcerate, Spook the Horses are stalwarts of Wellington’s metal scene, with a growing audience of European fans after signing to Berlin-based record label Pelagic Records in 2016.

Empty Body is the band’s fourth album and their second release with Pelagic Records. It was recorded and mixed by renowned sound engineer James Goldsmith, and mastered in Sweden by Karl-Daniel Liden.

With a release date of August 28, the timing is bittersweet as the band were set to be in the UK in August as part of their first European tour, which included playing the award-winning ArcTanGent Festival in Bristol, now cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lead singer Callum Gay says it’s a rough time for musicians everywhere. “Although our plans to finally visit our European fans and the enormous honour of being asked to play ArcTanGent Festival this year have fallen through, we’re looking forward to touring internationally as soon as it’s possible. We’ve had a long time to hone these songs into a razor-sharp edge and we cannot wait to share them with the world.”

Empty Body is a return to the lacerating heaviness of their earlier work after the mellower ambience of 2017’s People Used to Live Here. The record is refined, precise, and awash with texture and laden with crushing riffs.

“Historically we’ve always been both a heavy and a quiet band, and our earlier albums were some kind of mix of both. People… was the first time we did a release that was entirely in the more mellow melancholic vein. An entire album of our prettier, more bittersweet inclinations demands a reply of our most aggressive and confrontational. The pendulum must swing back the other way,” says Callum.

Working with James Goldsmith was a natural fit as the band has worked with him for years. “When he has an idea he commits to it fully, and when we told him we wanted to do an ugly album his response was ‘ok, well, let’s make it really, really fucking ugly.’”

With Karl-Daniel Liden, Callum says, “KD has worked on a lot of incredible albums but he came to my attention with his remasters of the Breach discography. I later learned he also played some of the bands I was already listening to, so he was a logical choice. We spent a lot of time making sure the master was exactly the right type of exhausting.”

Self Destroyer is out now on all streaming platforms.

Empty Body is out Friday, August 28. Pre-order it here: https://bit.ly/spookthehorsesemptybody

“Textured, devastating, refreshing.” – Vice Magazine

“Performances are subtle yet powerful. Spiralling, gauzy guitar lines intertwined like a tapestry with an uncanny degree of grace and charm.” – Under the Radar

Spook the Horses are:

Max Telfer, Ben Dentice, Zach Meech, Callum Gay, Jules Desmond and Donnie Cuzens.

Marty Duda
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