Dark Horse White Horse «Dark Horse White Horse» (EP, 2021)

Dark Horse White Horse is a new project of vocalist Marcela Bovio, known for her participation in Ayreon, Stream of Passion, The Gentle Storm, etc. Together with her, the trio included guitarist Jord Otto (ex-Revamp, ex-Vuur, My Propane) and keyboardist Ruben Wijga (ex-Revamp, Blackbriar), while the debut EP featured bassist Siebe Sol Sijpkens and drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek, known for playing Epica and Mayan.
The disc opens with a whirlwind of guitars and drums in «Judgment Day». The picture of the world on the verge of catastrophe is replaced by «Ariadne’s lament», stylized as a lamento aria. These extreme states alternate throughout the composition. Marcela Bovio is in her element – the melancholy of the vocal melody contrasts with the «torn» rhythmic instrumental parts, and the manner of singing varies from an inquiring complaint to a pathetic scream thrown into a black void. The «Black Hole» is built on the same principle, only it is “seasoned” with electronic keyboards and piano solos exactly in the “golden section” of the composition. In «The Spider» you can hear an organic fusion of groove metal, «atmospheric» electronics and «progressive inserts», and the highlight of the composition is a duel of a fast and impetuous lead guitar and electronic keyboards. «Get Out» is a rethinking of how hard ‘n’ heavy music can sound in the first quarter of the 21st century. All the same lamentous intonations of Marcela, only framed by skillfully selected noise tones of electronics and ascetic piano accompaniment. The short guitar solo in the spirit of hard ‘n’ heavy is contrasted with keyboard passages in the style of the virtuoso Jordan Rudess. In terms of vocal skills, Marcela, perhaps, surpassed herself, the composition «Get Out» is one of the most difficult in terms of transitions between vocal registers. And, perhaps, the most avant-garde on this disc is «Cursed». It is a kaleidoscope of different, not necessarily heavy, styles – from extreme metal, symphonic metal and sweeping to noise, techno and ambient. I wonder if this piece intentionally includes the quasi-chorious voices framing the main vocal part? It can be an arch from the title track to the final of the EP: both have clear references to symphonic metal. And what all five compositions have in common is the effect of a sudden «break» (like an exclamation mark with ellipsis), which logically ends each of the tracks.
Speaking of vocal skills: Marcela Bovio not only plays several musical instruments and composes music, but is also a vocal coach. This hypostasis on the album is especially noticeable: the metal diva shows a wide range of possibilities of her voice, from the subtone technique to the classical (not without the splitting technique) with access to the ultimate tessiture conditions.
So, at the debut of Dark Horse White Horse, a team of musicians showed a juicy genre-style mix that sounds «stylish, fashionable, youthful», that is, keeping up with the times. The first pancake is not lumpy. Let’s hope for a sequel!

Sergey Terentyev

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