Album Review: Horisont - Second Assault

Music doesn't come out of Sweden in waves, it hits in avalanches, rolling down from the frozen north with a ferocity that reverberates all the way down to Australia via Lee Dorian's always-reliable Rise Above Records. In between digging up lost gems from the '70s, Rise Above have been hunting down a plethora of bands that have re-envisioned all that was mutton-chopped and fuzz-soaked from that era of rock that's never really died, and the latest slab from Horisont embodies everything any kid who grew up rocking out to pop's Zeppelin and Sabbath records could wish for.

Horisont are riding the crest of a wave that's already deafened rockers with hits out of the blue from Graveyard and Witchcraft. If you've tuned into Horisont's fellow countrymen then Second Assault should be right up your alley. The thundering Time Warrior and frenetic Road To Cairo kick off the 10-track long player before things mellow out with the darkly psychedelic interlude Crusaders Of Death. Sure, that warm, authentic '70s tone can be brought with the right tubes and a knowledgeable engineer, but Horisont have Axel Söderberg, and even if he over-does the falsetto at a few points, there's no denying his skilled vocals are a welcome relief from some of the gravel throated wannabes. The title track hits in the middle of the whole affair and it's one to turn right up as the blacktop speeds, preferably beneath the wheels of a Charger but any muscle car will do, it's just that sorta track.

And hang in there 'til the end – Thunderflight is as much as that title would suggest.