Rating: 9.3

Country: Australia

Release Date: 2006

Record Label: Self-Released

Track list:
1. The Red Sea
2. The Weight
3. Slow Fade
4. A New Dawn

Total playing time 42:54

Band Website: Rote Mare

Rote Mare - The Red Sea [Demo]

Phil Howlett - Vocals & instruments

Astonishingly accomplished stuff here, from a solo project that somehow remains obscured from public view, despite having set forth two equally magnificent demos prior to this one. The agenda here is largely the same- utterly cheerless, mordant DOOM ™ that strikes a remarkable compromise between The Skull (think “The Wish” and “The Skull”) Trouble vintage Black Sabbath and To Mega Therion Celtic Frost (in terms of bombast, thrust and majesty), crossbred with a dolorous despondency that is strikingly akin to Pornography- era Cure (something that is buttressed by Phil's excruciatingly morose Robert Smith-esque vocal delivery).

Of note here are the strides that Phil has made in terms of musicianship- the opening passage of “The Red Sea” flaunts some MAGICAL, rich instrumentation, tasteful swathes of guitar superimposed upon unpretentious drumming and adroitly deft, angular Geezer Butler bass. There is so much depth and thoughtfulness to the material here, and the music is simultaneously sparse and dense- the construction of each song is relatively bare and spacious, opening plenty of sonic pockets, stuffed liberally with tasteful fills and other instrumental accoutrements. Soul, conviction, spirit, Rote Mare bleeds all of these things, and there is urgency and spontaneity in spades here, an immaculate balance between classy, understated musicality and gripping emotional immediacy that is the hallmark of all honest heavy music. It helps that he knows how to craft a tune, as well, never dwelling too long on a mastodonic riff, and incorporating enough fluid transitions and twists to save the dirge-like sermons from becoming dull and flaccid. I cannot help but commend Phil's recent decision to record with live drums on this outing, a new development for Rote Mare, and one that has contributed considerably to the ingénue of the band- it is clear that Mr Howlett is not a classically-schooled drummer, and the stark, rudimentary, yet rich-sounding percussion presents a smooth alternative to the lifeless rigidity of a drum machine. It would be futile to isolate individual highlights here, as all four numbers are uniformly excellent, though as a statement of intent and a summation of the Rote Mare aesthetic, the briefest track here, “Slow Fade”, effectively encapsulates the project's Skull-by-way-of-“Dawn Of Megiddo” approach.

This is sheer class, and comes with my very highest recommendations (not least because I'm attempting to do something that is similarly informed by Trouble and Frost). It has surely become apparent to most of you that unsigned doom is not always a hopeful proposition, what with the abundance of mediocre, complacent doom clogging used bins across the globe in this day and age, but Rote Mare is top shelf material that deserves to rub shoulders with today's most promising low n'slow troupes. Go here: www.rotemare.com or www.myspace.com/rotemare.

November 12th, 2006