Horsewhip: Horsewhip Heavy music always hits us hard in our cold, black hearts, but this album from a “newer band of older men” (read: Ex-members of Reversal of Man, Early Grace) stood out among so many of 2018’s Bay area metal releases. The songs on the self-titled are more downtempo than anything from members’ pasts, but it’s all still as chaotic and loud as the guys have ever been. St. Petersburg engineer Dan Shook has touched a lot of good music this year, but the punishing 17 minutes that Horsewhip handed over to him will have you begging for mercy and then lining up for another lashing.
Scroll through a slideshow of 2018's best Tampa Bay music releases or see and sample all of them here. Call your local record store to see if it is carrying the release.
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This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.