Pallida Mors - Pallida Mors

Review by Chad Coup @ The Apparatus
Thursday, 31 January 2008

Overall Rating (Weighted) – 6.8/10
Musicianship – 7.0

Composition – 6.0

Experimentation – 7.0

Production – 7.0

Value – 7.0

This is a very short EP from Chula Vista, CA's Pallida Mors has some good things going for it, yet leaves room for more. The band plays metal/hardcore with a decidedly death metal edge. It's not groundbreaking material, but it is good for a spin or three if you want something new to listen to. Fans of All Shall Perish or even JFAC will dig into something here.

The first thing I noticed when handling the promo was the striking cover art by Brandon Gallagher. It's some kind of zombie, but the purple tones lend themselves nicely to the overall contrast of the cover. It's fitting, because the band's name means "pale death" in Latin. The band's logo is rather generic and fills up at least 1/3rd of the frame, unfortunately.

The five tracks on this EP have a theme: technical, dissonant riffing surrounds each song's running time with breakdowns in the middle and intermittent blasting for good measure. I wish the band would commit one way or the other -- teasing me with a clear talent for playing technical music seems cheapened by the myriad of chugging. Vocals are rather inexpressive and two-dimensional; we get either guttural growling or high-pitched metalcore-esque shrieking. Either style doesn't vary much from the one note we are presented with.

Since there are only five songs at twelve minutes total, there isn't too much to write about. I really enjoy how the first track features a clever bass line. The guitars are very skilled in pulling some tricky scales and sustaining structure. The drums are rather tight and do their job well. There is one very bright spot on this record. "Adrenocrome," the final track, is the most rewarding of the set. It features the most interesting structure and technical prowess, only throwing in a chug-down near the end for balance.

When the band makes its full length, a feat most welcome, I wish for more tracks like this. The genre is already too full of bands that sound similar to Pallida Mors. It's obvious to me that this band has much more going for it than being in the middle ground in-between two different styles of music. I want this band to succeed in developing its own sound in the future.

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Pallida Mors - Pallida Mors

Review by Sage @ Heathan Harvest
Tuesday, 01 April 2008

I can tell you right now that the worst thing about this EP is the length. Sadly,it was over in 15-20 minutes, which was a shocker as its hard to not get into music like this as a metalhead. It has everything you could look for in a grindcore/deathcore release. Well-timed punctual notes, tight musicianship, disgusting vocals, complex drum work that includes blasting, and moments of straight melodic rhythms and leads which is something the vast majority of grind today lacks.

The fact that this EP is so short is probably a testament to the band's power as musicians. By the time the storm has blown over you're left sitting there wondering what the hell you just heard, then you have to listen again, and even a third time to take it all in. This is one of those releases that you really can't just listen to once and totally comprehend. There is just too much there. Another one to support from a label that is quickly gaining my respect, and hopefully more notoriety in the grind scene.

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Pallida Mors - Pallida Mors

Review by Bart @ ROAR E-Zine
Thursday, 03 April 2008

"The Underground Lives"

Most people would describe Pallida Mors as deathcore, but they are wrong. Ok, this band combines hardcore with death metal, and yes they do have deep grunts and high pitched vocals but this band does have something different.

And that ’something different’ is the addition of technical riffs. A plain deathcore band will have a lot of chugga-chugga-riffing but Pallida Mors, which means ’pale death’, has implemented some technical riffing into their music, which leads to some variety and shows the great quality of the musicians. If you love breakdowns you are probably disappointed by reading this, but I have news for you. Especially for you these guys have added some breaks into their songs so you can mosh during their show. Good huh?

So far so good. Let’s talk a little more about the vocals. Overall they are good, but while listening to this record I kind of missed those really deep, almost pig squeal-esque sound. I guess it is just a matter of taste.

After a couple of spins in my cd-player I must say that I am quite positive about this record, I mean it’s hard, it’s brutal, it’s good, but it is also quite short. In just 12 minutes you are through this record and it leaves you with a feeling that you want more, that’s for sure. So I hope that they will bring out some new songs very soon, because I really want more.

They prove that the underground really has talent!

78/100

:: Dutch Version::

De meeste mensen zouden Pallida Mors omschrijven als een deathcore bands, maar ze hebben het fout. Het is begrijpelijk want ze combineren hardcore met death metal, de vocalen bestaan uit diepe grunts en high pitches maar toch heeft deze band iets anders.

En dat ‘andere’ is de toevoeging van technische riffjes. Een standaard deathcore band zou namelijk vooral veel chugga-chugga riffs spelen om zo extra zwaar over te komen. Pallida Mors richt zich liever op het technische aspect van de muziek en laat dit goed horen, tevens zorgt dit voor een aardige portie variatie in de muziek. De heren zijn dan ook absoluut geen slechte artiesten, want dat is wel te horen.

Mocht je echter meer van breakdowns houden dan zit je bij deze plaat niet op het juiste adres, toch hebben ze wel aan je gedacht. Er is hier en daar namelijk wel een breakdown te ontdekken maar verwacht er niet teveel.

Tot nu toe valt er weinig te klagen over deze cd. Zelfs over de vocalen is weinig op te merken maar soms had ik toch liever een echt diepe pig squeal gehoord in plaats van de vocalen die we nu horen, maar dat is gewoon een kwestie van smaak.

Na een aantal rondjes te hebben gedraaid in mijn cd speler kan ik niets anders zeggen dat ik tevreden ben met dit album en ik alleen aanmerkingen heb op de lengte van dit album. In ruim 12 minuten is het gedaan met de pret en dat is jammer. Mogen ze maar snel nieuw werk uitbrengen. Deze band bewijst in ieder geval dat er in de underground genoeg kwaliteit te vinden is.

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