An excellent Black Metal release exhaling agony, torment and depression, crafted by a promising American duo that has all it takes to succeed in the world of extreme music.

Straight from the city of Phoenix, located in the southwestern state of Arizona, in the United States, comes a band that aims at bringing pitch-black darkness not only to their precious Valley of the Sun, but also to the rest of the world with their unconditional rage and hopelessness. This wrathful band is called Ghost Horizon, and the quality of the music they offer us metalheads during the 12 minutes of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal found in their debut EP, entitled Astral Possession, is undoubtedly beyond what anyone could expect from such a fresh new act.

Formed in 2015 by ex-Severed Receptors and Psychobliss guitarist Dan Stollings, the obscurity crafted by Ghost Horizon will definitely please fans of bands such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Woods of Ypres and Alcest, among other eccentric Extreme Metal groups. Moreover, when you listen to the music in Astral Possession, you can rest assured you’re listening to truthful music and not to any type of shenanigans many bands tend to deliver just to sound badass or evil. “Ghost Horizon, to me, is everything I ever wanted in a band. I can express both my anger/depression and happiness to whatever degree I wish, while also allowing the two opposite emotions to marry.”, commented Daniel on the direction of the band.

The ominous intro in Pale Apparition warms up the listener for a brutal fusion of Doom and Black Metal effectively fired by the duo, with the desperate vocals by Uræus being exactly what the music needs to be more imposing. In addition, string-man Daniel keeps delivering flammable guitar and bass lines until the music flows into a melancholic ending. Spectral Threnody gets even more somber, sounding like Blackened Doom with deeper growls and a sorrowful ambience where Uræus does a superb job on drums with all his tempo changes and blast beats. And lastly, the demonic composition Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed) closes the EP  in a powerful way, bringing forward modern but at the same time raw Black Metal perfect for fans of old school extreme music who are looking for something new in their lives. It’s indeed a feast of classic Black Metal riffs by Daniel which do not sound outdated at all, while Uræus keeps spreading electric darkness through his devilish vocals.

All the agony and torment provided in the form of extreme music by Ghost Horizon can be relished at their Facebook page and SoundCloud, and Astral Possession can pretty soon be purchased through their BandCamp page or on Amazon. Put differently, if you love extreme music exhaling anger, depression, anguish and sorrow all at the same time in a solid and convincing way, don’t waste your time and go check the high-end Black Metal by this dynamic American duo right now.

Best moments of the album: Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed).

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Independent

Track listing
1. Pale Apparition 4:31
2. Spectral Threnody 3:08
3. Astral Possession (The Cold Years Unearthed) 4:08

Band members
Uræus – vocals, drums, additional instruments
Daniel Stollings – guitars, bass