Having taken their name from a Reverend Bizarre song, Strange Horizon makes their allegiances perfectly clear with their full-length debut. Influences from their namesake along with others like The Gates of Slumber and Orodruin are abundant. Everything on the checklist is accounted for as the guitars and bass utilize those classic watery yet bottom-heavy tones, the drums have a booming sound with loose patterns, and the vocals consist of a world-weary baritone.

“They Never Knew” and “Chains of Society” follow up that climactic tempo shift with some drive of their own, the former track featuring an especially hard-hitting riff set. “Turning the Corner” provides another fun change of pace on the opposite end, putting in a bass-driven spacey number that serves as a sort of prelude to the nine dark minutes of the closing “Death in Ice Valley.”

Black LP in gatefold sleeve.
Apollon Records