Pale Keeper Deliver a Smörgåsbord of Doom

One would think that with the Doomed & Stoned in Russia compilation just being released, one would be up to speed with what’s up and coming regarding the doomy goodness coming from the world’s largest country. Well, think again, because here comes PALE KEEPER. Formed in 2019 and hailing from Moscow, the trio released their self-titled debut EP a mere week after the release of what is arguably our most crushing compilation to date.

Pale Keeper managed to grab my attention right away with vocalist Mark Davydov’s old school guitar sound and ditto riff. After a while the rest of the band, drummer Denis Sulimkin, who’s also responsible for the synths on the record, and Denis Chelnokov on bass, join in to give the doom riff some extra oomph. It doesn’t take long though, before the track takes a turn to a more progressive sound, reminiscent to the likes of Pallbearer. It’s clear that these guys know how to write a dynamic doom track. If there’s one way to introduce your band, “Tower Lord” is the way to go.

On the second track, “Sylvan,” the band takes a turn towards a Pink Floydian ambient soundscape. It’s a well executed piece of music, transporting me towards the tundras in seconds, but it’s also a harsh break from the thing they started on “Tower Lord” and continue on the following “Getting High.”

This track immediately found it’s way into my (quite extensive) list of great doom tracks because of the absolutely neck-breaking intro. The over the top guitar solo is just icing on the cake. It also makes me more forgiving towards the “demon voices” throughout the track. These take some of the focus away from the musical skills which are portrayed here.

“Emerald Grave” is the darkest track on this EP, emitting some of that Windhandian sense of melodic dread. The band finishes things off with another instrumental track, “Placid,” which feels like a peaceful, almost optimistic finish of a dark and dreary debut.

The only comment I have on this record is that it’s a collection of songs that doesn’t feel like a coherent whole. Then again, EPs rarely do so. What the EP does do is showing us what a talented pack Pale Keeper is. They show that they know what makes a good song and have the skills to hit it home by combining elements without blatantly copying them. I hope they will continue down this path. I foresee great success for these guys if they flesh out their sound a bit more. Make sure to keep an eye out for them!