ROTE MARE – ‘The Invocation’ & ‘The Kingdom’

Frantic drumming, repetitious 80’s riffing, and a banshee-like wail opens ‘The Invocation’, the first of two simultaneous releases from Australia’s excellent doom soothsayers Rote Mare. While not technically a double album ‘The Invocation’ and ‘The Kingdom’ are irrevocably bound by a shared release date, complementary album art, and a reverence for traditional doom and heavy metal in general. My expectations were set exceptionally high for this release based on the strength of their split with Dire Fate (another Australian band worth checking out), their previous full-length ‘Serpents of the Church’, and the slew of self-released demos via the band’s Bandcamp page. Overall, ‘The Invocation’ and ‘The Kingdom’ don’t veer too far from the band’s earlier releases, but there is less of a focus on melodicism and more of a shift toward experimentation and a slightly rawer sound.

If anything, Rote Mare have proven that they are not slaves to convention. The 14 tracks that comprise the dual release of ‘The Invocation’ and ‘The Kingdom’ are irrefutably cut from the doom cloth, but the band doesn’t hesitate to play with style, tempo, atmospherics, or vocal delivery. The inclusion of cover songs ‘Holocaust’ and ‘Destroyer’ from Big Star and Twisted Sister, respectively, illuminates some of the band’s influences and helps to keep things interesting. Rote Mare—like most great bands that include cover tunes—tear apart, mix up, and reassemble the source material into something that is a reflection of the original, yet something new and intriguing, especially with their Big Star cover.

‘The Invocation’, ironically, opens with “The Kingdom”—a track that kicks off at a blistering pace before plunging into a vat of molasses. Band leader Phil Howlett alternates vocals between a hoarse, throaty snarl and a cleaner delivery that accompanies the more melodic sections of the song. “The Furthest Shore” not only is the shortest track to be found on either release, but it is probably one of Rote Mare’s most unique tracks to date and relies heavily on a bouncing bass groove and finds Howlett really belting out some soulful howls. ‘The Invocation’ highlight “The Stones of Blood” sounds like the Rote Mare of old, particularly during the latter half of the song. The weepy dual guitars of Howlett and Sean Wiskin captures the melodicism that Rote Mare does so well before the tracks speeds up to a climactic gallop.

‘The Kingdom’, alternately, isn’t the flipside to the ‘The Invocation’, but rather a continuation or sister release. Like ‘The Invocation’, though, ‘The Kingdom’ opens strong. The intro of “Shadow of the Grave” is an atmospheric mélange of creepy keyboards and guitars that begins to stagger with the inclusion of drums before the song really establishes itself. Similar to “The Furthest Shore”, “Shadow of the Grave” hearkens back to the Rote Mare of yore due to the track’s melodic sensibilities and Howlett’s vocal approach. The riffs are huge, memorable, and the prefect way to launch this second album. The second track, “Shameless”, is notable for devolving into a dischordant yet rhythmic exercise in hypnotism that wouldn’t be out of place on a Shellac album. “The Thief”, is a catchy, mid-tempo tune that is sporadically punctuated by Howlett’s cry and psychedelic leads.
Despite being in constant rotation for the past few weeks, ‘The Invocation’ and ‘The Kingdom’ are still unearthing secrets…the depths have only been plumbed on a seemingly superficial level. Rote Mare have continued to impress with their brand of traditional doom metal and their ability to navigate and include a variety of styles and influences without sacrificing cohesion. While it’s almost impossible to separate the two releases I find myself returning to ‘The Kingdom’ a bit more frequently. While it may be the stronger of the two it would now feel incomplete without its twin. Highly recommended for all doom aficionados.

Words: Steve Miller
(Originally posted at Temple of Perdition)

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...to the fiery Hell below: DIRE FATE/ ROTE MARE – Split

I don’t know what they’re putting in the drinking water in Australia, but the land down under has spawned two exceptional traditional doom bands—Dire Fate and Rote Mare—who practice what can only be deemed as melodic doom metal. These two likeminded bands heavily mine the Sabbathian blueprint for their particular approaches, especially the haunting eponymous opening track from Sabbath’s debut, but each band proceeds to imbue their tunes with an ariose sensibility through their lush guitar leads, strong vocals, and subtle tempo changes that keep the tracks from becoming mired in plodding repetition. Dire Fate may not have the recorded output to match Rote Mare’s string of demos, debut EP, and a full-length album, but the band does manage to contribute three tracks that are within the same realm in regards to consistency and melodicism.

Dire Fate opens the split release with “Evil Ascending”, a moody, three minute instrumental that is reminiscent of Indiana’s mighty Apostle of Solitude. “Evil Ascending” slowly builds the tension that ends in a wash of feedback before “Satanic Eclipse” triumphantly rears its two-horned head. Like the best in traditional doom, the main riff is sinister and larger than life. Dire Fate kills it with this track. The vocals of Philip D. Atropos have a commanding, yet slightly theatric characteristic without sounding too over-the-top and they help carry the tune. The third track, “Salvation Through Pessimism”, continues and hones the band’s melodic sensibilities with the track’s opening guitar leads that slightly echoes Electric Wizard’s “Witchcult Today”. The remainder of the track is a slightly NWOBHM tinged traditional doom song that meanders through a variety of tempo changes. Again, Atropos’ s vocals soar on this track and add depth to an already great tune.

“Sinking Ships”, the first track from Rote Mare, is a bit uncharacteristic for the band in that it has an overall “gothic” sound to it and falling short of the three minute mark it is by far the shortest track penned by the band. Rote Mare has already established themselves as masters of melodic doom on their excellent debut EP, ‘Sorrows Path’, and the just as good follow-up full-length, ‘Serpents of the Church’, so this subtle departure in “Sinking Ships” is an anomalous detour that shows the band in a new light. The vocals of Phil Howlett are forlorn, yet more subdued on this track compared to other offerings which contributes to the gothic overtones. Whether the track works or not is almost inconsequential as the song ends almost as soon as it begins. The album ends with “Hour of Doom”—arguably the centerpiece of the split. This is Rote Mare at their finest and probably Howlett’s most expressive and powerful vocal performance to date. At nearly fifteen minutes in length “The Hour of Doom” makes it worth seeking out the split for this track alone, but the quality of the other four tunes makes this release that much better. The final track is a beast of a tune that showcases Rote Mare’s uncanny ability to craft songs that are epic in scope without testing the endurance or patience of the listener. The song effortlessly shifts from crushing, mid-paced doom groove to a contemplative crawl without missing a beat. Fine stuff indeed.

I initially sought out this split for the Rote Mare tracks, but was pleasantly surprised by Dire Fate’s contributions. Hopefully the Dire Fate/Rote Mare split is indicative of great things to come from both bands, especially the lesser known Dire Fate. While the direction of both bands have yielded a similar style of traditional doom, the two entities remain separated by impressive vocal performances. Fans of Black Sabbath, Reverend Bizarre, Gates of Slumber or even Orodruin should be able to find redeemable qualities in both of these Australian bands. Rote Mare has made a handful of releases available via their Bandcamp page including a couple of demos. Hopefully Dire Fate will follow suit.

Words: Steve Miller
(Originally published at Temple of Perdition)

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