After a year in the making, metal vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer- Stallionslaughter- releases an eight track album brandishing some of the heaviest music to be produced by the fandom. From groove metal to deathcore, there is a broad array of stylistic influences showcased across the album which features tracks grounded in morbid themes of destruction and equestricide. Catch the track-by-track write up after the break!
The album seemingly bears a universal theme that arguably proclaims that, in the wake of desolation, there will always the beginning of something new and this core idea is initially introduced by the lyrics of the opening and title track. It is a comfortable and comparably lighter song which begins with clean arpeggios and spoken vocals before progressively evolving into a more aggressive tone, foretelling of the heavier songs to come.
That rougher soundscape is immediately delivered by the monstrous vocals of the second track,”Drink Cider Learn Nothing”, which chronicles a scenario of intoxication and sexual assault. The track marches along to palm muted chugging and a hard hitting beat.
The third- and arguably the catchiest- track on the album, “Parasprite Swarm”, kicks off with some grooving riffs that are excellently complemented by more heavy vocals. The lyrics fantastically capture the events of the episode Swarm of the Century while doing a great job of showcasing Stallionslaughter’s vocal range from growls to screams to cleans. I think a lot of the brilliance of the song comes from it ultimately just being an honest retelling of a canonical episode, except that it’s done in such an aggressive manner compared to the lightheartedness of the show.
Another incredibly catchy track, “The Suffering has been Doubled”, follows things up with a recounting of Luna’s emotional turmoil in having been banished for an incomprehensible length of time. Luna’s despair is conveyed through an impressively delivered chorus while her seething declarations of vengeance are articulated through some more powerfully executed false cord growls.
“Discord’s Ballad” is a heavy, guitar-driven instrumental that shows off some heavy tones through rocking the drop B tuning. It does a nice job of showcasing some solid versatility in playing styles.
“Twilight Time/Zone” welcomes listeners to the first of the album’s two gore themed tracks, with this first one exploring the horrors of live dissection and autopsy when Twilight is captured by human scientists. The cleanly delivered chorus smartly punctuates verses that exhibit some more solid grooves and sharp midrange growls.
Admittedly the first track I heard from Stallionslaughter, “All Gussied Up” does not pull any punches in its graphic illustration of Rarity torturing and flaying rival fashion designer Suri Polomare to death, and it remains my personal favorite on the album. The track smartly toggles between various tempos as it rollercoasters between dramatic builds in tension, savage breakdowns, and murderously high-octane riffs. The lyrics are composed of Rarity’s incredibly sarcastic and patronizing taunts which portray an extremely warped- yet “in character”- narration of her creative and thorough execution of Suri. The song finishes with my absolute favorite line, “Being the element of generosity, I will provide your next design. Go ahead and strut your stuff, you wear your own blood! Don’t you love this new design? This one you made yourself.”
Enter the final track of the album, “End to it All”, a brutally harsh episode of contemplation undergone by Twilight as she recognizes the impending fate of her mortal friends. Appropriately heavy in its delivery across all of the instrumentation, the song nicely concludes both itself as well as the greater album through some uplifting and melodic guitar work.
Brandishing a professionally polished mixdown, the quality of these tracks beautifully shine while delivering a level of brutality that is- while not too foreign- definitely not frequently explored by the fandom. It is the deliberately crafted product of an incredibly talented, yet woefully unknown, creative army-of-one, and it is a product that you can get for yourself in both digital and physical format from Stallionslaughter’s bandcamp page. Also keep up with the artist’s future works via his YouTube, Soundcloud, Twitter, and website.
Horse Music Herald 