Yes, this is the 15th studio LP from Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore. Breaking out as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality & it’s sequel produced by Johnny Slash. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations & Living in the End Times, Alchemy & Black Magic, his Goon MuSick debut The 87 Arsonist & the Brenx-produced Agoraphobia. The last album Embrace the Darkness III became his greatest material since signing to the label & the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse now rises.
After the “I Am Death” intro, the opener “Devil in the Flesh” finds Johnny Slash combining woodwinds with kicks & snares talking about a highly unfortunate situation with G-Mo Skee last spring whereas “Year of the Rabbit” featuring Lord Goat keeps the hardcore boom bap vibes from rollin’ thanks to C-Lance talking about time traveling 4 decades earlier. “Looking Back II” is a solid continuation of an Embrace the Darkness II highlight produced by Brenx just before “Mad Max on Acid” featuring Moecyrus dismisses the nerds criticizing him when he knows his wordplay’s crazy.
“Hunt Fascists Not Antifa” gets the 2nd half going making a statement regarding the rise of fascism in the US since January of last year while “Whiplash” goes into full battle rap mode over a Young Bangas beat. “Apocalypse” featuring Blaq Poet & Nightwalker aggressively boasts their statuses within the underground while “Still Here” featuring Bullet Brak assures they ain’t leaving. After the penultimate track “Fuck You Pay Me” featuring Recognize Ali makes all the pussies hide, Lucid Death” wraps things up seeing his whole life flashing when the last horseman strikes over a Snowgoons instrumental.
This month will already be 2 whole years since Novatore joined the Goon MuSick roster & despite Embrace the Darkness III remaining the best thing he’s done on the label so far, Pale Horse of the Apocalypse still has it’s enjoyable moments much like The ‘87 Arsonist & Agoraphobia. A common theme across some of his recent output is that you’ll get top notch boom bap production & a cohesive concept, but some of the guests nail it with their contributions & others simply don’t do much for me whatsoever. If he were to do a solo project with either Johnny Slash or Young Bangas alongside his father Stu & have only a couple features on it, it could make for some of his best output.
Score: 7/10