Year: 2022
Label: Decadence Within Records
Rating: 7,5 / 10
This project, which, due to other circumstances, I should have reviewed even before its first release, passed me by, because, firstly, it was released in 2022, when Bagnik Zine was inactive, and secondly, for some reason the instigator of the band did not inform me about it. So that you understand, FALLEN HORIZON are not just some guys, but the editorial board / administration of the excellent Black Curse Zine and the label Decadence Within Records. Somber (who goes by the nickname Black Curse here), although being deeply in Black Metal, has a doomy soul.
”To the Horizons Lost" is officially presented as a doom / death metal demo in the vein of early PARADISE LOST and AUTOPSY, and that's true, although I would say that the list of influences here is much wider - from HELLHAMMER and WINTER to MYTHIC and first CYANIDE recordings. The demo turned out to be specific in a sense, which can be explained through comparison with the work of another band of a similar direction. In Russia, there are such guys as CAUSTIC VOMIT, who are also inspired by the above-mentioned bands and still remain in the status of a demo band. At the same time, both of their demos are almost perfect examples of the genre, performed at a quality level of all components that is unattainable for most, not only modern, but even classical bands. FALLEN HORIZON has a fundamentally different approach: their debut record is exactly demo. It was recorded at Niemaracz Clan's "Pit", but obviously with minimal editing. It is played very crookedly and slowly; quite often there is a feeling that the guys are literally pushing themselves through all these parts with some unimaginable efforts, leaving scraps of clothes and torn hair on the strings.
However, in a strange way, this demo captured me on the first try, becoming one of the most interesting releases of recent months. And the point here is not that it was made by my friends, whose creative efforts I probably understand a little better than of the other musicians. I would say that the appeal of "To the Horizons Lost" is created by this specific manner of performance. The pauses between the chord-rhythmic fragments make each ”piece" sound very accented. The band seems to be pressing a guitar and bass blank to the listener's ear and nailing it with two or three strong hits of hell hammer. It gives it very interesting intermittent flow.
Aesthetically, FALLEN HORIZON is perfectly all right. The quiet raspy vocals and dour atmosphere perfectly match not even Lovecraft's, but Howard's lyrics about dead cities and abandoned ancient towers in an endless desert. The sound of FALLEN HORIZON is completely organic and natural, but there is no life in their music. Only silence and an unruffled wind that cries over decayed tombstones.
The demo was released on pro tapes in an edition of 70 copies. Inside, you can find the lyrics to both tracks and find out that FALLEN HORIZON belongs to an initiative called Fort of Eerie Doom. Details on a video. I hope that on this demo, despite all the current circumstances, the creative path of FALLEN HORIZON will not end. In Belarus, it was always bad with Doom Metal, especially with the one created accordingly to the ancient traditions.
English (UK) 
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