Case in point: Rote Mare. Out of Adeleide, mastermind Phil Howlett has been griming it up since 2005. And he’s the prolific sort. Nine demos, a split with Dire Fate, an EP and now he throws out full length albums two and three in one monolithic double whammy. The Invocation and The Kingdom are two pretties of decay, with beautifully matching woodcut artworks. I’ll concentrate on the former this time around and give you the lowdown on its sibling a little later.
The Invocation is the rowdier record of the pair. Song numero uno, The Kingdom (The Kingdom opens with The Invocation. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, PHIL!), opens quite aggressive with a fast beat, a riff that cuts and a scream that makes me wince thinking of the groinal torture a man must go through to produce something this eardrum shatteringly high. Kiske would be proud. From then on, it’s Doom all the way. The sound is smooth, analogue and well defined with a slight whiff of 70s (which gets stronger later on). For now, Phil seems to be content to either languish in a crooning, soft voice, wavering when appropriate. Or he spits his rage about the decay of our world with passion and sharp gravel in his voice. It’s rough and uncut but it fits the tone and atmosphere well. This man knows what he does. Over time, he has built a reliable backing band for his antics: Sean Wiskin on second guitar, Jess Erceg on Base and Ben Dodunski on drums ground his flitting leads and vocal contortions with steady beats (man, what am I going to write about the next time?).
Anyway, The Kingdom does its thing very well for about 12 minutes before giving way to The Furthest Shore, a very short (less than four minutes) interlude but nonetheless one very cool customer. This one skips the Doom for more of a bluesy, grimy barroom appeal and it works very well. The baseline alone is worth it. It is best consumed with a fifth of Jack in one hand (no rocks, thank you very much) and a smoking pill in the other. There’s some beautiful noodling going on there. I seriously wouldn’t have expected something like this after the 10 ton gorilla that came before but whaddayakno? FYI, I’m shrugging.
It’s back to old stomping grounds with The Stones of Blood. It faints a left jab with some NWoBHM beginnings before sinking a right hook right into the kidneys with the Doom that came before. It’s as if the song takes up a thread that was left dangling from The Kingdom. But the riffs have a little more majesty to them. Phil screams the words “I love you” like a maniac whose hands are still dripping with the blood of his beloved whom he just gutted with a ceremonial knife (which is actually, what he sings about but even if you wouldn’t know that, it would sound like it). The song ends in a spasm of ecstasy and misery.
Nothing is just that: 14 minutes of bleak. This one takes it slow and low with a lightly plucked melody that keeps its pace over most of the runtime. If you want a confirmation of your depression, be it seasonal or from an even deeper, darker place, this is your jam. Halfway through, the song takes a turn for the grim and it really weighs down on you with slow, deliberate riffing and drumming. No god to save your soul, eternal emptiness indeed. “Why waste time, why waste away until the end? It’s easier to do it now.” It might not be Poe in technique but it gets the point across just as well.
The Serpent officially (there’s a bonus track but I won’t touch on it since it’s not canon) ends the album with menacing drums and feedback before going all out on us with some relatively uptempo, grimy riffs. At this point, I’m enamored with Phil’s gruffer vocals. He’s got the power, so to speak. This little ditty even takes a well aimed swing at the stoner crowd. It swings and grooves along nicely below these angry wails. Again, world ending scenarios, apocalypses and ignored warnings about the same are the themes. Thulsa Doom must be proud.
So yeah, these Australians can Doom it with the best. There’s some nice craftsmanship going on there, from composition, through play, production and up to design, this is (one half of) the full package. Tune in next time when I subject myself to its sister, The Kingdom.
Words: Stefan Eder
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