UMUR
"Half Blood" is the 4th full-length studio album by US atmospheric/psychadelic/drone rock/metal act Horseback. The album was released through Relapse Records in May 2012.
...now I wrote metal above, but in reality the only thing "metal" about "Half Blood" are the black metal type raspy vocals. The instrumental part of the music either goes under the catagorization of laid back psychadelic rock with a repetitive krautrock element or drone rock. It´s an interesting combination that might take a bit getting used to, but ultimately comes off rather intriguing. Some tracks like "Inheritance (The Changeling)" and "Hallucigenia III: The Emerald Tablet" fall under the drone rock catagory and personally it´s not a style that makes my blood boil, but in the context of the album and working as atmosphere enhancers, they actually work pretty well. The more "rythmic" tracks of the album are more satisfying to my ears and I find myself drifting away into smooth and mellow territory when I listen to them. The organic sound production only enhances that cool and laid back experience.
...and I guess that´s the best way to describe "Half Blood". It´s a cool and laid back album that can be used as background music but also as "listening" music. A nice little breather in an otherwise chaotic and busy world. I like it and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.