New Hampshire’s own power metal trio, Under the Horizon, begins a new era with their second album, The Gospel of October, which dropped yesterday, October 13. There’s nothing like this group out there today: heavy growls and thrashy chugging over the top of lead singer and bassist Izzy McIntyre’s angelic high tones, and guitarist Jordan Sweet’s relentless dive bombs. And drummer Matt Palmer? He’s an animal, especially on tracks like “Foreign Heat,” which I suspect might cause you heart failure if you get too close to his bass drum while he’s wailing away.
We were able to get an advance copy of the new album, and chatted a bit with the band about their metal roots and creating new music.
Check out tour dates and more info about the new album at their website here:
Some standouts for us among the 12 tracks include “Vampire Love,” a chuggy throwback to Emo metal that would make any fan of ’80s punk happy. You can hear the sass in Izzy’s vocals.
The title track, “The Gospel of October,” is an epic, nearly six-minute cascade of riffs and fills, complete with a growling Izzy up high.
And the aforementioned “Foreign Heat” outros so hard with Matt’s deep over-the-top gutturals that we imagine the pits at live shows will be insane.
All three band members were kind enough to chat a bit about the new drop, how they all came together, and what to expect from the new album.
Interview With Under the Horizon
Uma & Dan: The band only formed in 2023. Where and how did you all meet and start playing together?
Matt: Izzy and I met when both of our cover bands that we were in were in a battle of the bands and we stayed in touch after that.
Jordan: And I had met Matty in high school because we both went to the same school, and I later ended up joining the same cover band he was in!
Matt: From there, the three of us just ended up coming together.
Uma and Dan: How did you come up with the name Under the Horizon?
Matt: Jordan actually is the origin of the Under the Horizon name. When we were recording our first album, it occurred to us that we were gonna need a name so Jordan looked up cool, unused band names and found Over the Horizon, but we all decided that that sounded way too happy and not metal enough, so we just simply reversed it to Under the Horizon!
Uma & Dan: Jordan, tell us about the Flying V you use. Is that a Gibson?
Jordan: My V is a Jackson Rhoades Pro Series. I found it in a guitar center we had gone into when we were freshly formed! I found it for $800, down from release value. Not bad!
Uma & Dan: Izzy, are you self-taught or have you taken vocal lessons?
Izzy: I personally don’t take vocal lessons. I’ve been singing in bands for about six years now, so it’s just more time to develop.
Uma & Dan: What’s each of your favorite songs off the new album to play live?
Jordan: That would probably have to be “Choke.” It’s just energetic AF, and it’s heavy, so it’s just a whole lot of fun!
Matt: That’s my favorite as well. It’s probably my favorite drum part I’ve ever written, and it’s the perfect brand of high energy and heaviness.
Izzy: Also “Choke!” It’s very energetic, and I get to step away from the mic a bit!
One final note worth mentioning is that the band has a mascot, Matt’s English bulldog, Missy. She’s the band’s number one fan and attends band meetings, practices, and parties!
Maybe you’ll see Missy someplace on the road. Under the Horizon has a bunch of local gigs coming up near the end of October. The new album will ensure that their schedule is likely to get even busier!
Interviews By Uma is a regular question-and-answer feature developed by eleven-year-old Uma Szczesny and formatted and managed by her journalist dad. The column and Substack focus on interviews between Uma and some of her favorite musicians, artists, and teachers. Uma is also a kid reporter for Manchester Ink Link and has written for Paperjam Magazine. Her interviews have been published in several media journals and newspapers in the United States and Canada. For more information on Interviews By Uma, to read her archive, or to propose or suggest an interview, email interviewsbyuma@gmail.com. Also, please share and check out Dan and Uma’s books here:
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