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| The HorrorInsobriety & Insubordination2004 Signal Path 
 Review by: Adam See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
The Horror (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 Published on June 22nd 2004
The Horror may be from the hotbed of Gainesville, Florida but you wouldn't know it from their sound. If anything the band's charging, street influenced, shout-along punk rock sounds more like the style you hear coming out of NYC or Boston. This means that despite the fact that The Horror are quite good at what they do, they're on well tread ground and face an uphill battle to really distinguish themselves from so many similar groups. There's no shortage of passion on Insobriety & Insubordination and it propels the album forward. The opening track "Rise to the Depths" features some neat interplay between the John Grimaldi and the backing vocalists. It's fast, fun punk rock that sets the unrelenting pace for the entire record. The band calls to mind early Dropkick Murphys at times, particularly in "Voice of (T)reason," with it's almost sea chantey-like chorus. The gang vocals aren’t too far off from those on The Forgotten's more recent records, if only a bit less gruff. One thing The Horror definitely have going for them is their lyrics. While they're not hitting on any unexpected themes (there's songs about alcoholism, class conflict, the punk scene and other common topics), their writing is quite proficient. Despite the sing-along features of the music the quality of the writing never really suffers. Particularly interesting is the aforementioned "Voice of (T)reason," which deconstructs and questions the definition of patriotism. It takes a more inquisitive perspective than most anti-war songs, something we have no shortage of in recent times. The Horror keep things moving over the course of 8 songs, with things only lagging a bit towards the end of the record. However the band uses their 21 minutes wisely and has assembled a respectable collection of crowd-pleasing tunes. This is a decent debut, but nothing particularly new. The Horror is going to have to do a lot more to stand out from the crowd if they want to move forward from here. Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Rockabilly was good but I think they're psychobilly, and psychobilly annoys me. Yeah. The Horrors are better. They were straight up dirty rockabilly. No one seems to remember them here at all though, even though they did a European tour. I really am willing to bet they're not. The Horrors from Iowa are probably better. More like annoyingness like the Boredoms except less cute. The Horror, The Horror! would be beyond dance-punk. Well, the Conrad version, anyway. They'd be dane-punk to the MAX. We're talking fullout pretentiousness. Or a mid-90's ska band where no one in it was black. Something tells me that if a band was called The Horror, The Horror! they'd probably be dance punk. They definitely got it from the movie. They are probably idiots and I'd take them in a fight. It was in reply to Forty's comment. They're street punks. They haven't read any Conrad. I don't think anyone got the Heart of Darkness (or were you referencing Apocalypse Now!?) reference. It was the first thing I thought of when I read the band name. It's nice to see this reviewed here. Great local band, and amazing live. Great album. May not be pussy enough for some of the people who frequent this site. I like the whore Their name should be The Horror, The Horror! I had the pleasure of seeing the Horror recently. Their live show is fantastic, as they bring all of the energy from their record, multiply it by ten, then spit it right back at the audience. A lot of energy, and a ton of passion. Not to mention excellent songwriting that goes beyond virtually all of punk rock today. A great effort, buy it today. theres a better ' the horror' in the uk I remember seeing the horror in Pensacola last year, they were pretty good. What was funny was how one of the members grandparents were there, and the grandpa who was over 70 at least was wearing a horror T-shirt |
