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A Pale Horse Named Death is the creation of drummer Sal Abruscato, formerly of Type O Negative and currently of Life of Agony. With his new band, Abruscato has pulled a Dave Grohl. By that, I mean that Abruscato isn’t drumming for APHND, he’s the singer, songwriter and guitarist. Abruscato really shows his talent and diversity on this album.

APHND is a blend of doom, stoner and grunge rock with goth-like influences.

Abruscato has a soulful, grungy voice, while his lyrics tell a tale. They are short stories or cinematic movies about the seedy side of life, death and drug addiction.

On APHND’s debut full-length CD And Hell Will Follow Me, Abruscato creates dark and depressing music — as if your ray of sunshine just hid under a big black cloud. But the emotion and pain is so enjoyable. It has a very dark Alice In Chains and Type O Negative vibe with a down-tuned guitar tone. It’s kind of like the joy you get from listening to Dirt or Bloody Kisses.

His live band consists of drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Seventh Void), Bobby Hambel (Biohazard) on guitar, Matt Brown (Supermassiv, Seventh Void) also on guitars, and Eric Morgan on bass. On And Hell Will Follow Me, Abruscato played every instrument except for a few lead guitar parts, which were handled by Bobby Hambel. On top of that, Life of Agony's Keith Caputo lent background vocals to four tracks, and Lou Reed's saxophonist Ulrich Krieger guests on "Die Alone."

And Hell Will Follow Me opens with the gradual gallop of a horse who lets out a final whiney before "As Black As My Heart" gets going. It has a familiar radio-friendly melodic sound. Abruscato’s soulful and melodious vocals create a solemn mood with a catchy chorus. CD closer "Die Alone" is a strong ending to an excellent debut album. Its melancholic lyrics display a heavy emotional feeling, reminding you of Layne Staley at his best. There’s a trippy, psychedelic pace to the riff, complete with a subtle sax solo towards the end for a dramatic effect.

The remaining tracks dealing with drug addiction, whores, serial killers, killer birds, death and wolves keep the intensity level going strong. This is a heavy and reflective album with dark moods and emotions that will leave you surprisingly satisfied. I think Sal is definitely on to something here.

(Released June 14, 2011 on SPV/Steamhammer Records)



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