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Pale Horse Ritual – Diabolic Formation Review

By Creeping Ivy

2025 must have been a challenging year to occupy the Sabbath-worship lane. Ozzy’s passing on July 22nd—seventeen days after the Back to the Beginning concert—hit metaldom hard, but it surely hit harder for bands that treat Master of Reality as a sacred text. Videos from the concert, especially of a throned Ozzy performing one last time with the original Sabbath lineup, provide solace, as do covers from legends like Metallica and Slayer.1 Tragically, 2025 has revitalized Sabbath; Sabbath-inspired bands walk a tightrope of honoring the original and wilting under its renascence. Merging into the Sabbath lane late in the year is Pale Horse Ritual, a Canadian quartet. After releasing a slew of singles and an EP in 2024, this Hamilton, Ontario band has dropped their debut full-length, Diabolic Formation.2 While it doesn’t need to break much new ground, the album does need to aid the grieving process.

Pale Horse Ritual offers a bit more than straight Sabbath worship. While Diabolic Formation primarily deals in stoner/doom metal, much of its instrumentation hearkens to 70s psychedelic rock. Lead guitarist James Matheson, for example, lays down some total psych freakout solos (“Deflowered,” “Bloody Demon”). Spooky organ chords also contribute to the album’s vintage atmosphere (“D.E.D,” “A Beautiful End”). Together, these elements evoke Iron Butterfly and other such proto-metal acts. Nevertheless, Pale Horse Ritual ground their sound in pure Iommian goodness. Instrumental opener “Deflowered” announces Diabolic Formation’s riff-forward orientation, built around modulations of a simple yet satisfying flat-2 line. The descending chromatic figure of closer “A Beautiful End” is an album highlight, dragging listeners down to a warm, fuzzy hell. Similar to a contemporary band like Monolord, Pale Horse Ritual unabashedly revels in the undeniable power of a familiar riff.

Alas, Diabolic Formation feels familiar to the point where one-to-one comparisons can frequently be made. “Wickedness,” the first real ‘song’ on the album, provides the earliest instance of Sabbath aping. Its verse riff and accompanying vocal melody exactly replicate the first half of the “Iron Man” hook. The lyrics are also imitative; though not a direct lift, the narrator imploring his audience to ‘Call [him] Lucifer’ echoes “N.I.B.” Less overtly mimetic is “Bloody Demon.” Its main riff brings “Electric Funeral” to mind, and lyrics about the ‘prince of darkness’ and watchful ‘snake eyes’ summon Ozzy and Lemmy. Beyond Sabbath, Pale Horse Ritual comes close to sampling Iron Butterfly in “D.E.D.,” which recalls the iconic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” phrase. Unfortunately, Diabolic Formation invites listeners to hunt for references.

Pale Horse Ritual do break from their Sabbathy mould in intriguing ways. Vocalist/bassist Paco is not Ozzy; he possesses more of a chill, mid-range croon. Paco effortlessly delivers catchy choruses, heightened by harmonies from rhythm guitarist Will Adams (“Wickedness,” “D.E.D.”). But he very much is Geezer; Paco’s fills and wah-wah stomps naturally play off Jonah Santa-Barbara’s drumming, putting these grooves into the Butler-Ward pocket (“Deflowered,” “Wickedness”). The biggest curveball on Diabolic Formation, however, is “Save You,” the mid-album acoustic break. Its delicate fingerpicking, ghostly whispers, and dreamy synths conjure a surprising artist from the 70s: Nick Drake. The on-the-nose, anti-religion lyrics draw attention away from the suppleness of Paco’s voice and Adams’s guitarwork. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful track showcasing a side of their sound I wish Pale Horse Ritual explored further.

Diabolic Formation flourishes and flounders due to its familiarity. Even in a subgenre rooted in remembrance, there are too many direct echoes of Sabbath, Iron Butterfly, and the like here. Listeners might feel paranoid that every riff and chorus is plagiarized. And yet, Diabolic Formation is a good sounding record, with cozy tones and comforting atmosphere. If 2025 left you reeling from the loss of Ozzy, then Diabolic Formation is worth 39 minutes of your time. As a new purveyor of an old sound, Pale Horse Ritual can help you adjust to a new normal.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Black Throne Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: November 28th, 2025

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Warcoe – Upon Tall Thrones Review

By Spicie Forrest

Certain decades and locations have a unique and instantly recognizable sound, like 90s hip hop, Florida death metal, 70s rock, etc. But such subgenres—at least for metal—are no longer regionally or temporally exclusive. There are American bands that play Swedeath and 2010s bands that play 80s thrash. In this postmodern era, iconic sounds of time and place are constantly worshipped, reimagined, and repurposed by new bands for a contemporary global audience. Warcoe is one such band. When I first heard the vintage doomsters, I thought them from the 70s or 80s, but they formed in Pesaro, Italy in 2021. Impressed with their retro style, I laid claim to their third full-length, Upon Tall Thrones, and spent some time reveling in the sounds of yesteryear.

From the first notes of opener “Octagon,” it’s clear Warcoe grew up on Black Sabbath and their progeny. Carlo’s bass is warm and velvety, while Stefano’s devious guitar tone compliments his Ozzy-esque vocals well. More than mere worshippers, Warcoe augments their classic sound with stoner rock and metal. “The Wanderer” and “Brown Witch” summon Monolord with mammothian riffage, while leaner, more energetic tracks like “I’ve Sat upon Tall Thrones (but I’ll Never Learn)” and “Spheres” strike a balance between Windhand, The Sword or Kadaver. Beyond doom and stoner metal, Warcoe also incorporates more classic styles. Stefano’s lead guitar never fails to impress, his hooks and solos recalling your dad’s favorite cuts from CCR or ZZ Top. As a whole, Upon Tall Thrones presents a nostalgic, vintage sound dressed in modern clothes.

While Upon Tall Thrones initially sounded great in the background, its faults appeared when I began paying closer attention. I love the timbre of Stefano’s voice, and it fits Warcoe’s style, but his delivery is fairly monotone. Stefano’s minimal range holds several good moments back from greatness (“I’ve Sat…,” “Dark into Light”). This may be a stylistic choice, but it grows tiresome around the midpoint. The production on Upon Tall Thrones is a much bigger issue. I’m not sure what happened between drummer Francesco sitting down to record and me downloading the files, but the drums skip and stutter quite a bit. It’s mostly confined to the cymbals, and it’s more noticeable on the back half, but I heard at least one instance on every track except drumless acoustic interlude “Gather in the Woods.” That track has its own problems, though, as static popping accompanies every. single. note. It’s maddening, I can’t unhear it, and it ruins an otherwise great acoustic break.

Faults aside, I still hear ambition and potential on Upon Tall Thrones. But for the tail end of “Deepest Grave,” there’s no bloat here. Warcoe is dynamic. Rarely does a riff overstay its welcome or a song miss its best endpoint. Even with two instrumental tracks smack dab in the middle of the album (“Gather in the Woods” and “Flame in Your Hand”), the energy doesn’t falter, and my attention doesn’t wander. Warcoe even manages a little successful experimentation. Blackened tremolos hover above the proceedings on “Dark into Light,” and the 16-bit, Wraith Knighted solo of “Flame in Your Hand” sends me hurtling down memory lane to play Final Fantasy IV. It’s Warcoe’s willingness to explore beyond their influences that makes me think they’re chasing something special here.

I try not to quote promo material, but in the case of Warcoe’s Upon Tall Thrones, “groovy doom from the abyss” and “vintage darkness with sharp and heavy riffs” work pretty well. Unfortunately, what excels in a casual environment falls short under closer scrutiny. My criticisms of Upon Tall Thrones aren’t apocalyptic, but they are consistent and pervasive, bringing the entire album down. This resulted in a lower score than I wanted, but I have hope for the future. Warcoe shows promise. If Stefano can expand his range and the band can both secure cleaner production and hone their unique sound, whatever succeeds Upon Tall Thrones has the potential for excellence.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: FLAC
Label: Ripple Music | Morbid And Miserable Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: September 26th, 2025

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