CD REVIEW: RIOT HORSE – This Is Who We Are

Shane | 27 June 2014 | 1 Reply

CD REVIEW: RIOT HORSE – This Is Who We Are
Metalville
May 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8.5/10

2014 stands likely to be remembered as a great year for forward-thinking retro rock with outfits such as California Breed and Rival Sons writing great rock n’ roll, processing it through an Instagram-like filter of previous decades, to end up with music that is vital and very NOW.

Sweden’s Riot Horse can now be added to that list of hard rockin’ revivalists.

Boasting former members of Darkane (vocalist Andreas Sydow), Bai Bang (drummer Jonas Langebro and bassist Joacim Sandin) and Sons Of Tomorrow (guitarist Nille Schüttman, Riot Horse’s visionary leader), This Is Who We Are boasts hints of Deep Purple, Free, Uriah Heep, Mountain , The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin, but owes a debt to none of them.

All cast iron bluesy riffs, a powerful rhythm section that plays fast and loose with the tunes, and a leather-lunged vocal performance all add up to a hard rock tour de force that’s sometimes edging into stoner/psych territory, sometimes a little metal, and always rockin’.

This is who Riot Horse are, and you’d be well advised to remember their name.