Named after a Hungarian film that stands as one of the bleakest films in modern cinema, Turin Horse come from the state of Saarland in Germany. While their sound is much more dynamic than the film after which they take their name, Turin Horse is nonetheless a fitting band name for these Germans. You see The Turin Horse was the horse that, in the city of Turin, Italy, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche saw getting whipped relentlessly, and, perhaps because it just stood there, people speculate, this event is storied to be the catalyst to Nietzsche’s descent into mental illness.

“The film The Turin Horse describes the destruction of the world in a pure, simple and unique way, with many possibilities of interpretation for the viewer,” writes the band. “Nothing fits better to the music we perform.”

Canyonous drums, riffs and bass lines like massive things carved from marble and eroded into perfection by the winds of time, a dramatic and enthralling vocal performance gives lungs to some serious spirit-breakers; but where Turin Horse’s debut full length Prohodna really shines is in the engineering of all these wonderful parts. Turin Horse therefore are not just heavier than a whale funeral. Most importantly, the seven tracks that make up Prohodna hit philosophically poignant and resolutely, penetratingly bleak. A solid OUGH! of 10. Like a metaphysical wrecking ball to the solar plexus.

Prohodna

 Interestingly enough, (almost) everyone in Turin Horse all used to play in a band called Gravity. What brought them back together, according to the band, was “[the] constant oppressive feeling of everyone involved that the music we created with GRAVITY wasn’t finished yet, and we still have something to add. After all, it took more than two decades, filled with many other individual musical endeavors, to realize this.”

Technically, Prohodna is Turin Horse’s second release, but we’re not totally cheating by including it in Demo:listen, as the band explains.

“Prohodna is technically and emotionally our second release with songs all written in 2018. A full length album in all aspects, regardless of the number of tracks or playing time. The first release Uncleared contains 25 year old tracks that we recorded live on the seventh rehearsal night after our resurrection.”

Turin Horse recorded Prohodna live, and then went to Charles Greywolf to mix the album with him. 

“He makes good coffee,” the band jokes, before saying that it was “a dream to have [Greywolf] on board.

“By the way, all the recordings were taken by ourselves, we usually install a few microphones in our space, press the record button and finalize them later with vocals and samples. But when Charles starts mixing, everything goes beyond . . . his deep understanding of our vision and his ability to push our sound to the limit keep us speechless and full of admiration for him. A true master.”

According to the band, “Prohodna literally means passage and this record marks our passage to the next chapter of darkness. The main lyrical concept behind the record is the alienation of the individual. The songs ‘Turin Horse’ and ‘…Is Not Night Closing…’ describe the mental demise of Nietzsche based and known from the Letters of Insanity. ‘Vein of Disease’ contains the following words: ‘… and we plant the seed when we awake and drown in the void …,’ a tribute to the song Fall Apart by DEATH IN JUNE, another metaphor for loneliness and alienation.”

Those pining for a physical manifestation will be pleased to learn that “a vinyl version of Prohodna will be available worldwide in the WOOAAARGH store at the end of October. Merchandise and CDs are available from our Bandcamp page, just drop us a line.”

Meanwhile Turin Horse are already “preparing the final songs for a recording night, which is planned for the end of this year. The concept and album title are already set and maybe well see Mr. Greywolf correcting and leveling the microphones during the recording in our room. Mix and master will be in his hands again, that’s for sure.”