Riff Police! Pull Over! #100: Horna Vs Bullet For My Valentine!

What if we told you that a Black Metal band were influenced by Welsh Metallers Bullet For My Valentine? Well laugh you might but here’s some evidence for you that might just make you laugh harder. Originally going by the name Shadowed, Finnish Black Metal outfit Horna (Finnish for “Abyss” or “Hell“) have been plying their evil trade since 1993, releasing a plethora of vinyl only EPs and splits throughout the early 2000s with Guitarist Ville Pystynen aka Shatraug being the sole surviving original member. Back in 2007, they released their sixth studio album “Sotahuuto” (Finnish for “battle cry” or “war cry”), said to be a tribute to Bathory and allegedly written in Spring 2004. It includes a track by the name of “Vapise Vapahtaja“, (Finnish for “Quiver“, “Saviour”).

Released in November 2004 was the “Hand Of Blood” EP by Bullet For My Valentine, one of a pair of EPs to precede their 2005 debut full length record “The Poison“. A record that received a mixed bag when it came to the critics, with some slating it as being too generic or similar to other bands in the genre with a Metal sound and Emo asthetic, it was still more than enough to get them noticed. So which came first? The chicken or the egg? One thing is for sure, the riffs are a cigarette paper away from each other…