On their self-titled full-length album Kinghorn, the band sounds smooth and lubricated yet pulled back with a strong bass sound in “Now is all We Had” and “Black Sea”. This album is a testament to the vision that the band already had in mind starting with their debut EP Short Stories. The drumming technique on “Pariah” shows glimpses of genius while the lyrics and the bass in “Drugs” take listeners to a psychedelic/noise-rock, sludge, and grunge mash, unlike anything they’ve heard or witnessed. “Drugs” is our favorite on the album, and “Sadless” comes close behind.
“Death Secrets” is deliciously creepy, with a hard guitar sound and introspective vocals, and “Now is all We Had” is edgy and claustrophobic, starting the whole album on an ominous note, especially with Brandon Whalen’s hard rock guitar solo which stirs both fears and intense emotions. “1:30 am” is by far the most haunting of the whole album with the strongest drumming and thrash metal sounds, however, the band still needs to further explore their style and solidify their rock’n’roll presence.
King Horn showcases a well-produced sound that hopefully reinstalls Oregon as a post-hardcore and noise rock hub. Tracking down their Eps, singles, and arriving at this self-titled full length, King Horn is a voice deep-rooted in the music industry, harboring a unique sound and a soon-to-be established discography inside the books of bruising and uncompromising post-hardcore and noise rock.
