Release
date: April 03rd
2020.
Label: Seeing Red Records / Ancient Temple Recordings.
Format: Cassette/CD/DD/Vinyl
Pale Mare II
–
Tracklisting
1.House
Of War 07:47
2.Zealot
06:24
3.Voidgazer
04:18
4.Remains
09:02
Review
Pale
Mare – latest EP offers a ferocious blend of Sludge,
Doom and Stoner Metal and is influenced by early-era High On Fire,
Mastodon and Baroness with a twinge of Motorhead style aggression.
The EP only lasts for 28 minutes but Pale Mare leave a mighty
impression with the band adding a Punk Rock attitude to the mix and
even add some sonic blasts of Psychedelic Metal along the way.
The
guitars do have a certain Matt Pike/Lemmy feel to them but Pale Mare
create music on their own terms and it’s quite brutally bleak in
places with the lyrics adding a gloomier feel. The dual vocals from
Eytan and Kevin both offer a different perspective on things on
different parts of the album. The music is the real standout here
with Pale Mare allowing their music to grow at a natural pace with
the “thrashier” elements of their music bringing a more violent
approach to their music.
The
4 songs on offer here represent top-notch Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
riffs that will leave your whole body in a fucking spin. The
aggressive grooves heard on opening song House Of War feels like the
bastard offspring of High On Fire and Mastodon vying for musical
supremacy and still offering some equally catchy lyrics at the same
time.
The
standout songs on here are Voidgazer and Remains. As the band feel
more confident and in their creative element on these two songs with
Pale Mare offering a blistering style of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner
Metal for these two songs.
Remains
offers the heaviest moments of the EP and the band have a lot of time
to play with here. As the song lasts for 9 minutes and Pale Mare
offer a wide range of different Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal sounds with
a cool sounding Psychedelic vibe allowing the band to play some epic
guitar solos along the way.
Pale Mare II
is a resounding success on all levels and shows you why we need a
full length album from these guys for their next release. As I want
to see what these guys can deliver on a full length record. Until
then, II is a welcome addition to the current top-tier of
Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal releases.
Excellent
and Highly Recommended.
Words
by Steve Howe
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