Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
“What the bastard love child of a Motörhead and High On Fire merging might sound like” kind of says it all. This self-titled début EP from the Toronto, Ontario post-metal / sludge act Pale Mare somehow evaded my radar until now.
Thankfully, it has now landed on it and I’m here to tell you what’s-what when it comes to it and them. The introductory line above really does quite hit the nail right squarely on the head, I do believe. With a bit of faster-paced, yet furious still, avalanches of savage sludgery and angst, these three songs are the epitome of groove-fueled brutality.
What might sound like a wall of noise to the uninitiated, in this case, is outright raw heaviness, delivered warts and all with distortion. Yet all is not balls-out speed and mayhem, no, there are unexpected turns toward calmer, more melodic areas like the mid-section of “Carthage“. It is enticing while providing a slight breather from the dynamo of musicality almost constantly whirling about.
The other two tracks, “Descolada” and “Hoplite“, are unbound numbers that yield riveting post-metal density. The three songs combined are a most promising jumping-off point, one that instantly embeds its way into your skull. This is merciless music for fans of ruthless rumblings able to shake your foundations, so to speak.
Pale Mare is:
Tommy Gervais – Bass, Vocals
Eytan Gordon – Guitar, Vocals
Kevin Roberts – Drums
Check out the Pale Mare S/T EP streaming via Bandcamp for your listening experience. It is out now and available in various formats, including Digital and Cassette. Enjoy!
Oh, and Pale Mare will be celebrating the EP release as part of a show with an incredible bill of bands. They’ll join Kosmograd, Jahgernaut, Sierra, and Ol’ Time Moonshine for an EP release party at Coalition T.O. in Toronto on April 6th (details).
