Sal Abruscato has had a long, impressive career in the world of hard rock and heavy metal. Many of you know him as the drummer for Type O Negative and Life Of Agony, but Sal is also an accomplished guitarist, song writer and lyricist. His latest outfit, A Pale Horse Named Death, is breaking ground in bold ways, to help push rock in the right direction.

This past Thursday Sal Abruscato, and the guys of APHND headed to the East Village’s beer, bourbon, and rock bar, Idle Hands for a listening party of new album, ‘And Hell Will Follow Me’.  Idle Hands was the ideal venue to hold this listening party. Not only could the fans enjoy the album, but they would be able to drink great craft beers and bourbon. It was no surprise that many of the people who came out to the event were die hard Type O Negative fans, and wore the t-shirts and hats to prove it.

In my opinion APHND’s ‘And Hell Will Follow Me’ really works. The album has a 90s hard rock feel to it, blending both an Alice In Chains, and Type O Negative sound, especially in the breakdowns. They are in no way trying to directly copy this distinct sound, but rather elevate it and make it their own. It’s refreshing, these days, to hear rock music with balls. I believe in these lyrics. They feature themes of distrust, pain, drug addition, and darkness. A perfect example of the albums darker tracks can be heard in Pill Head, and Heroin Train.

I was lucky enough to have a few minutes to talk with Sal. We touched on topics ranging from his loyal fan base and A Pale Horse Named Death’s first release. Abruscato said, “I feel honored that APHND is being embraced by the same people who have supported my work throughout the years. I am a huge fan of melody, laid over heavy riffs, and thats exactly what we set out do to with this release.”

As the album played, I walked around the bar, talking to the fans who were all enjoying some brews. I got a universal response that they were thrilled about this release. They respect and embrace Sal’s dedication to the hard rock and metal scene. The crowd was great; all singing along to these yet to be released songs.

A Pale Horse Named Death’s debut album, ‘And Hell Will Follow Me’ is now available for pre-order online and is being released in the USA on June 14th. Any fan of hard rock and heavy metal will enjoy this record. It is made by a versatile group of musicians who know what their audience craves.

-Alan Smithee