ALBUM REVIEW: The Fourth Horseman – Deathwish

Wisconsin hardcore punk outfit DEATHWISH have been pushing the boundaries of their sound ever since they released their debut album Out For Blood in 2015. Their latest effort, The Fourth Horseman, showcases how far the band have come and how they continue to redefine their sound, while delving into personal topics such as death, rebirth, and how strong the human spirit can be when dealing with adversity.

From the opening riffs of In Cold Blood, DEATHWISH pull the listener in and don’t let them go for the entire half-hour runtime of The Fourth Horseman. Whether it is the raw and roughness of that opener, the heavy rock of Kings Of The Road, or the frantic guitar-driven Rain Fire, the band waste no time on introductions.

Even though the album never slows down throughout its ten songs, DEATHWISH manage to allow a lot of the tracks to have their own individuality, from the old-school metal vibes of Aces And Eights, to the atmospheric rock of Hell In My Head. Admittedly some songs near the end do sound quite similar, such as Mainline Rock N Roll and Bring Down The Hammer, but Edge Of The Knife increases the intrigue once again with an instrumental introduction. The closing title track is as in your face as the rest of the album, but it also sounds a bit cleaner than most of it, with the vocals being clearer in this song than in some of the others.

The production on the album is fantastic, although it does have its downsides. Some of the vocals get overwhelmed by the instruments on a handful of songs throughout, and whilst it is a very fast-paced album, which is typical of the genre, some of the songs do fly past without making much of an impact. Thankfully, this only happens a few times, but it’s enough for it to be noticeable. However, the rest of the album is fantastic and a lot of the songs still retain their own identity, especially as there are different genres explored throughout the album, such as metal, rock and grunge.

Ultimately DEATHWISH have continued to push the boundaries of their music by embracing different genres, creating a fast-paced album that shows the best of the band. It isn’t perfect, but the majority of the songs have an individual sound, and each song is fast and high energy, so overall this is another brilliant album in DEATHWISH‘s great and ever-growing discography.

Rating: 8/10

The Fourth Horseman is out now via Beer City Records.

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