Pale Horseman - Mourn The Black Lotus (2014)
Mourn The Black Lotus opens
quietly, in a way that winkingly lays the foundation for Pale
Horseman's pressurized ear assaults yet to come. It's not a façade
that lasts long, though, with “Evidence of a Severe Stoning”
quickly switching into the doom-death mode they use for the bulk of
the music included. Slow-crush riffs and drums from the deep provide
a sense of subterranean styling, while the vocals are forceful enough
to fit the lyrics of soulless creatures and acts of violence.
“Conquistador” and “Grudgulence”
provide a better sense of how the band can just wash away into the
waves of a doom groove, with a few of those riffs that just
immediately sound familiar, and while the band's style of attack
changes up considerably from track to track, they take some
appreciable care in making sure that the songs link well from one to
the next, giving the whole thing a nice management of momentum which
can be a tricky matter when dealing with doom-drenched slow-and-low
tempos of this caliber.
As specialists in death-doom, though,
Pale Horseman also have some quick and thrashy guitar shreds up their
sleeves, from which they can neatly slide into the slower stuff and
right back out again without a bump. They put it to some good
effect, allowing the lyrics and their delivery some more convincing
power with the violent stuff, but their ear for when it's appropriate
is what really gets it rolling. And that command of their speed is
important, because the back half of the album is a hefty one that finds them shifting more into sludge territory, with
over 34 minutes of the album packed into the last three songs. These
include a remix by Justin Broadrick (of Godflesh and Jesu) and the
grueling forced march of “Clairvoyant”, which could be a
collaboration with Cough for all the instrumental menace it wields.
Mourn The Black Lotus is a very
strong debut, with plenty of promise for the band's songs to come,
and enough buried detail to reward multiple listenings for interested
ears. I wouldn't be surprised if this release picks up some steam
and ends up on a large chunk of end-of-year lists, so go ahead, get a
jump on things, and educate yourself on this
album. They'll also be playing a show in Chicago on August 1st, so don't let that opportunity slip by you if you're in the area.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Heavydeath,
Demon Head, Tons, Coffins, Fudge Tunnel
~
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