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The USA-based psychedelic post-metal act Black Math Horseman has re-emerged from the fog of time and memory with a stunning new self-titled comeback EP, set for release on 21 October via Profound Lore Records. The band has also shared the first single/video from it.
In 2009, Black Math Horseman released its debut album, Wyllt. The band's music was unlike almost everything that existed at the time. It was hypnotic, heavy, sonic alchemy that seemed to emanate from another time, another place. The members - vocalist/bassist Sera Timms, guitarists Ian Barry and Bryan Tulao, and drummer Sasha Popovic - had somehow tapped into heavy music’s collective subconscious. A European tour, along with appearances at Roadburn and Primavera Sound, solidified Black Math Horseman's reputation as a mesmerizing live band. Then, just a few years later, they were gone.
Thirteen years later, its follow-up to Wyllt makes it seem as if the band never stopped playing together. A trance-inducing journey to the centre of humanity's inner turmoil, Black Math Horseman is meant to be listened to as a single, continuous composition.
Conceptually and lyrically, the record continues the storyline from Wyllt, which follows the mysterious character known as the Black Math Horseman. "This is where the character really comes into full bloom with their 'black math', which is aggressive, manipulative reality shaping", Timms explains.
"The essence of the album is overcoming a great enemy, a great adversarial force, and reaching a place of harmony that has never been found before", she continues. "You go to a dark place and destroy relationships that you love, all based on ego. Eventually, you have nothing. And when you have nothing, you have to find a new way of doing things. That's where we're at now as a band and family, and that's also the theme of the record."
Much of Black Math Horseman was recorded in the band's rehearsal space with engineer Manny Nieto. Covid lockdown kicked in the very next day, so Timms didn't track her vocals - this time in the studio - until five months later. All subsequent overdubs and mixing were handled by Ian Barry, with guidance from Ben Chisholm.
Though the album was composed as one long song, the band divided it into chapters to accommodate today's listening habits. A gorgeous centrepiece, and first single, "The Bough" captures a moment of clarity in the main character's trajectory. "'The Bough' is essentially that moment when you realize you have been courting an illusion", Timms states. "You've put every bit of your heart and soul into courting this illusion, but when you realize that there's nothing behind it, you want to destroy everything - not only the illusion but reality and yourself. It's that lightning bolt of clarity that comes through destruction - that's what the song is."
Unlike Wyllt, Timms chose not to play bass on the new offering. Instead, multi-instrumentalist Rex Elle graciously filled in. "Rex played everything that I wrote and added a few parts of her own, but I didn't play bass on the album because I wanted to just focus on singing", Timms explains. "I'm going to be performing without playing bass, and I don't want my vocal parts to be limited to what I can do while I'm playing bass."
Ultimately, Black Math Horseman is so much more than a reunion release. It's a celebration of familial bonds and shared history. "The core essence of the band is the family that we have, and the music we make within that family", Timms concludes. "There's nothing else."
Black Math Horseman's captivating video for "The Bough" awaits you right below. Link
Black Math Horseman tracklist:
1. Black Math Horseman
2. Boar Domain
3. The Bough
4. Cypher
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