A Pale Horse Named Death originated as a Brooklyn, New York-based American heavy metal band assembled in 2011 by Sal Abruscato—onetime Type O Negative co-founder and longtime Life of Agony drummer—together with guitarist, producer, and mixing engineer Matt Brown, formerly of Seventh Void. Their self-released debut long-player, And Hell Will Follow Me, appeared that June in a limited run of 1,000 copies and featured guest contributions from Biohazard guitarist Bobby Hambel, Life of Agony vocalist Keith Caputo, and German-born saxophonist Ulrich Kreiger. The music fused the brooding goth metal associated with Danzig, Biohazard, and H.I.M. alongside the weighty post-grunge hard rock of Alice in Chains, built around crushing riffs and dark melodies whose lyrics explored nihilism, depressive self-reflection, and the inevitability of death. Revolver magazine ranked the album number five among its best releases of the year, and the group toured with Hambel continuing on guitar, bassist Eric Morgan, and Danzig drummer Johnny Kelly; once Hambel completed his stint at year’s end, Eddie Heedles took over the guitar position.
Strong reviews and acclaim for their live performances secured a contract with SPV/Steamhammer, resulting in the 2013 sophomore album Lay My Soul to Waste. The band supported Danzig for two months and appeared at the Wacken Open Air Festival in 2014. Abruscato placed the project on hiatus later that year to resume his duties with Life of Agony, prompting Brown’s departure.
Abruscato exited Life of Agony in 2017 and revived A Pale Horse Named Death in April 2018, bringing in ex-Lita Ford and Doro guitarist Joe Taylor to replace Brown. Their third album, When the World Becomes Undone, surfaced in January 2019 via the SPV imprint Long Branch Records; afterward the group completed two North American and two European tours, with Tommy Spano filling in for the unavailable Kelly.
During the COVID-19 quarantine Abruscato composed roughly 87 song themes. After Kelly confirmed he could not return because of other commitments, Abruscato recruited drummer Chris Hamilton and ex-Altered Vision bassist Oddie McLaughlin to complete the rhythm section in late 2020. The band announced via social media in February 2021 that new material had been demoed, and Long Branch Records issued the fourth full-length, Infernum in Terra, that September.
