ALBUM REVIEW: For Dust Thou Art – Pale Horseman

A release from the very end of last month, For Dust Thou Art is the fifth studio album from Chicago-based PALE HORSEMAN. Formed in 2011, the four-piece specialise in the sludge and doom fields, and they’re not alone – there’s a handful of bands from the Illinois city that comprise the scene including the likes of BONGRIPPER and THE ATLAS MOTH. PALE HORSEMAN aren’t a young colt either – their quartet is comprised of thoroughbreds that know their way around a riff, three of whom are former members of COULDRON; they’ve also worked with members of NEUROSIS and GODFLESH in the past, although this independent release is somewhat coy on the personnel behind the production; it’s difficult to find out who was behind the mixing desk for the recordings, even if it was the band themselves.

In any event, the clarity of the music is a stand out point, as is the succinctness – six tracks long and a shade under forty minutes, this is certainly an album as opposed to an EP (no, we’re not going to get into that particular debate here), but the fat has been trimmed away and that works to PALE HORSEMAN‘s advantage. As for the production, there isn’t a moment where things sound muddy in regards to the mix or the experience; yes, the guitar work from Eric Ondo and Andre Almaraz is fuzzy and at the lower end of the tuning spectrum, but it doesn’t get lost in translation for the duration of the album.

This allows For Dust Thou Art to flow freely and effortlessly, with the riffs on such tracks as Scourge and the opening number Tundra to crash with maximum effect. The cleaner intro on Disenchanter is a nice deviation from the norm too before the crushing, progressive nature of the music kicks back in with full force; a further example of this is the end of Archangel, which chugs along well in a slight musical shift, although not one that strays out of the ballpark.

The biggest issue, with For Dust Thou Art, though, is that there are a number of bands out there who are producing similar music at a much greater quality. Ondo and Almaraz‘s dual vocals are impressive, but GOJIRA are doing the same thing with far more aplomb. As mentioned, the music has its moments, however when bands like MASTODON and CROWBAR exist, there’s nothing to suggest PALE HORSEMAN are going to be a serious threat in their specialised field. A secondary issue is the final song, Cydonia – doom metal is never going to have an urgency about it because that’s not its MO – it’s always going to be steady, deliberate and focus on depth rather than speed. Yet, Cydonia is this exact music by numbers – whereas the rest of the album has a shimmer, this feels rather dull and bland, as if the band recorded the album in track order and by the end were just going through the motions; it’s disappointing, and certainly puts a dampener on the album as a whole.

This is by no means an inherently bad album, however a band of PALE HORSEMAN‘s pedigree and experience should be making far better music than on show here with For Dust Thou Art. Given the strength of other albums in their catalogue, this is certainly more of a misstep than anything else and they’re not the first band to experience that; they won’t be the last, either. However, in what has been a blinding year for metal as a whole in terms of music being released, PALE HORSEMAN are not going to be figuring in too many End of Year lists as 2021 approaches.

Rating: 6/10

For Dust Thou Art is out now via self-release.

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