Artist: A Pale Horse Named Death
Venue: The Studio at Webster Hall (New York, NY)
Opener: Dead Superstar and Borgo Pass
Date: 1/16/2014
Label: SPV Records

I’m going to say that it was a little over two years ago that I first (and last) caught A Pale Horse Named Death in concert and while the band recently had one of the opening slots for the Danzig tour that came through town, I did not manage to attend that particular event. That said I was rather excited to find them returning to a show in The Big Apple and once again delivering their Doom-Laden Stoner Metal to the assembled fans at The Studio at Webster Hall. I really enjoy the intimacy of this particular venue and have seen it packed to capacity on a number of occasions. This evening’s show would be more “comfortable” than those times with what I assumed to be a close throng of about 100 or so of the bands faithful. Opening the show were two bands from Long Island, or “Strong Island” as the lead singer of Dead Superstar proudly proclaimed. They had a solid sound and good support from friends that had travelled in to catch their 8:00pm slot. I would catch them again if I learned they were on a bill and I had the means to do so. The same view could be applied to that of Borgo Pass, a band whose name I had heard kicking around for a few years but was never able to catch until this evening. Their sound had a very Black Sabbath tone to it and to play off that scenario the band even included a rendition of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in their set.

The changeover was quick from support to A Pale Horse Named Death and that is to be expected at a venue like this because they do later evening DJ sets. Depending on your mood and the kind of vibe that is going on, you might end up staying a little while after the bands finish up their sets. I know I have in the past but I digress. The lineup of APHND appears to be the same as the one that I caught last year and that is nice since it shows some consistency to the fans that might be following them. For those new to the group that means Sal Abruscato (vocals/guitar), Eddie Heedles (guitar), Matt Brown (guitar), Eric Morgan (bass) and Johnny Kelly (drums). I’m not sure if I have to outline how both Sal and Johnny are former members of the great Type O Negative but there it is if you needed that sort of information. Last time around Sal was sporting a kind of Corpsepaint on his face that I felt added to the dramatic presentation but this evening he was not doing that at all and it was purely about the music. After a brief intro segue way they kicked into “The Needle In You” which comes off the band’s latest release “Lay My Soul To Waste”; As a new song to the live audiences ears they might find it very similar to the kind of stuff we last heard on “And Hell Will Follow Me”. They would follow this with three tracks from the debut before sliding seamlessly back into new material territory. They sounded really tight and this stuff is completely heavy for sure. Sal didn’t speak a lot this evening but did show his appreciation to the crowd for coming out on a Thursday night. There were a good hundred plus in the club during this set and when he asked who might have seen the band during the aforementioned Danzig tour, only a small handful of fans in the audience responded. It was nice to know that I was not the only one who missed that tour 

Having seen them twice now I can say that it’s a band that’s worth seeing if you were a fan of Type O Negative based on the band members that were associated with them but of course those fans should be aware you are not getting “TON2” from this lineup. Yes there are melodies and passages in the mix that harkens back to the group but there is more of an Alice In Chains level of melancholy brewing here at the end of the day. I do like how it comes across live and while I still have yet to snag a copy of the new album, it’s safe to say that the tunes that I heard tonight were a logical progression from their debut and I feel that they are on a good track to becoming something special in their own right in good time. This would be my first of three shows across the weekend as tomorrow I would be catching Abigail Williams with Erimha and then Stone Sour with Pop Evil on Saturday. Good thing that Sunday is considered a day of rest – I’ll need it for sure after this group of adventures.

Set List:
1. Funeral Intro
2. The Needle in You
3. To Die In Your Arms
4. As Black As My Heart
5. Devil In The Closet
6. In the Sleeping Death
7. Growing Old
8. Pill Head
9. Shallow Grave
10. When Crows Descend Upon You
11. Die Alone
12. Killer by Night

It’s been a little over two years since I had last caught A Pale Horse Named Death in concert and while the band was recently out supporting Danzig, I was not able to work out the night properly so that made me happy to find out about this gig at the great Studio at Webster Hall venue. Fans who might still be wondering just who this band is should be made aware that this is a project formed for former Type O Negative drummer Sal Abruscato and in this band he sings and plays guitar. You can check out the full on concert report and photo galleries by clicking the logo link below but then do hit this blog post again so you can enjoy some side images that are presented only in this space.

My article mentions the opening acts being Dead Superstar and Borgo Pass; Here are some photos of each of those bands for your viewing pleasure.

Borgo Pass would be the band that brought us right into the set by APHND (sorry, I cannot type that over and over all too easily so use the abbreviated manner for simplicity).

Here are some visuals of the merchandise on sale at the APHND table. Some great trinkets and shirt designs. I need to get one of those shirts for my collection and to sport at shows of course.

We ran into Hank Hell from Seventh Void/Inhuman at the show. I also saw Acey Slade but I didn’t manage to get a photo of him this time around. My bad. Here is Hank though.

Official Website: www.apalehorsenameddeath.com