ALBUM REVIEW: Monoceros – Forcefed Horsehead

One comes across a lot of great band names in this line of work, but FORCEFED HORSEHEAD is definitely up there with the best of them. No prizes either for guessing that they deal in all manner of violence – a sound somewhere between grindcore, death metal and hardcore that their debut full-length Monoceros presents in all its glory while even demonstrating that the band have a few more strings to their bow than that.

Coming nearly a full eight years after the Norwegians’ previous release Hunting Witches – which is confusingly listed as a full-length on Metal Archives despite the fact that it sits at half the runtime of their Deux EP from the year before – FORCEFED HORSEHEAD have clearly and significantly expanded their modus operandi for Monoceros. Where their previous releases did push willingly enough at the edges of their primary genres, this record feels like the first time the band have been able to give these efforts the time and space they need and deserve. Twelve tracks stretch to a full 42 minutes, which really is something considering Hunting Witches squeezed 13 into 11, and in doing so FORCEFED HORSEHEAD have produced their most fleshed out and dynamic offering yet.

Make no mistake though, this album still has ragers on ragers. It kicks off with a run of absolute carnage, with Every Death You Take (sadly not a bastardised POLICE cover), Futile, Novgorod and Ruins all practically chasing one another out the gates in tight and breathless two to three-minute runtimes. They establish an urgency that remains even as the record evolves beyond them – an intensity not far from the likes of CONVERGE or CANCER BATS, but with more of a blackened edge perhaps. Even within that, it’s clear that FORCEFED HORSEHEAD have range; Every Death You Take slows to a briefly more expansive break around its midsection for example, while the addition of an acoustic guitar in Futile even makes it sound a bit like one of the aforementioned bands blasting their way through the Wild West.

And then there are the really obvious examples; the sludgy, doomy heft of recent single The Black Sun, and the nine-and-a-half-minute sprawl of closer …And Then There Were None – a predictably dynamic number that carries more of a post-metal feel embellished by sweeping strings and chanted melodic vocals. Placed effectively at the end of sides A and B if one were to approach this as a physical release, these tracks are the clearest indicators of FORCEFED HORSEHEAD’s new-found patience. To be clear, this isn’t a case of ‘longer songs = better band’, it’s that here the extra space has enabled the five-piece to push themselves further than the brevity of their previous releases ever really allowed for, and crucially that these efforts carry just as much intensity and power as the more full-throttle tracks which remain this band’s bread and butter.

All this helps the band make light work of Monoceros’ 42-minute runtime, bringing in greater variation at just the right moments to ensure that their ferocity never really wears off. FORCEFED HORSEHEAD could quite easily strap you in, put their foot to the floor, and chuck you out when they’re done – and no doubt that would be an enjoyable enough experience – but it’s the fact that they’re willing to take the occasional detour while still keeping the final destination in view that really elevates this record from good to great.

Rating: 8/10

Monoceros is set for release on March 24th via Owlripper Recordings.

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