Pale Horseman is a 4 piece metal band from the Chicago area which combines elements of sludge, doom, and death metal. Featuring a dual attack of guitarists/vocalists and a pummeling rhythm section, their live shows have been most often described as “crushing” and their studio recordings have been handled by the mixing boards of some of their biggest influences including Dennis Pleckham of Bongripper, Noah Landis of Neurosis, and Justin Broadrick of Godflesh.

On August 1st 2007, John Goff was pronounced dead. He died in his small house in Abilene, Kansas from a severe asthma attack. This was the influential event that caused John’s best friend Steve Moss, to start The Midnight Ghost Train, as a eulogy to John. “Something had to be done,” Steve says. “John’s memory and life has to be remembered in some way.” Moss then moved to his hometown Buffalo, New York with a plan to start a band, record a record, and go on tour. This was the idea and the drive that fueled The Midnight Ghost Train’s engine.

As soon as Moss arrived in Buffalo, he began to recruit members for the band. The original lineup included Steve Moss on vocals and guitar, Toby Cole on bass, and Jake Levin on drums. The Midnight Ghost Train has never been too sure on what direction they wanted to take their sound, and what genre to ordain to. All they knew was that their life and soul needed to be dedicated to music. Moss is a big early blues aficionado, so it was inevitable that the music would have strong roots in the blues. It was the heavy (stoner rock) side of their music that was most surprising since the band was never into much heavy music. “But when I’m on stage I love to bang my head and have the feel of loud amps and drums behind me, and when I pick up an electric guitar I like to play it heavy, and with force,” Steve says.

When it came time to record their first record, The Johnny Boy Ep, the band replaced their bass player, Cole, with Keith Harry-Carrey. This record was very diverse in sound. Ranging from heavy rock, straight up blues, and even acoustic and piano driven songs. Once the record was finished, Moss started to book their first U.S. tour. They had no idea how to do it, how they were going to afford it, or how to be successful at it, but they knew they needed to be on the road, live for the stage, and they were willing to give up everything in their life for it. Before the tour started, Keith had to be replaced by Brandon Burghart, because of Keith’s complications with being on the road and being gone from his daughter. So Burghart, Levin, and Moss took off on the road in the summer of 2008, and started what was to become a long, long life of touring.

Formed in 2011, at Columbia College, Chicago rock band Apollo House has been compared to the Black Keys, Led Zepplin, the Black Crowes, Rival Sons, and numerous other bands that can be described as “old fashioned rock ‘n roll.” Though the band has embraced every single one of these acts, Apollo House focuses their attention on three things: heavy riffs, heavy soul, and heavy rock n’ roll.

According to singer Joe Korbee, “The band was formed to be true to the classic idea of rock n roll…” This includes blues laden guitars, heavy drums, and “honest lyrics through a soulful voice.” It’s this take on classic rock that will often take audiences by surprise, not expecting to witness such a true tribute to classic blues and rock music. It’s with this that the band hopes to give back to music what went missing in an industry where numbers always seem to overshadow talent. However, Apollo House has still managed to create and play music that exceeds traditional rock n’ roll standards. It’s the homage to classic rock music that intrigues people to Apollo House, but the modern distinction is what makes people stay.

This past August, Apollo House recorded and released their self titled EP and continues to tour and perform as much as possible. They continue to perform the show and festival circuit this upcoming spring and summer. Most recently, Apollo House recorded a release show with JBTV which will be released/aired in the coming months.