Bear are a progressive hardcore/metal band from Belgium and this is their fifth album.
This new 19-minute EP from the mighty Bear packs a punch. It’s five songs and no messing around. These songs are short and to-the-point. Two do their damage, then get out swiftly, laughing as they do so with murderous glee.
Bear are heavy and interesting. They have a strong track record of pushing out progressive hardcore/metal, (not the best terms for them probably), that operates at the intersection of metalcore and mathcore, (skewing to the latter). This is where they dominate. Mixing heaviness, technicality, and hooks, the Bear formula for success is deceptively straightforward, yet hides the fact that there’s a solid foundation of songwriting smarts that sits behind their muscular exterior.
Empty Markers roars out of the gate, raging with violent rancour. The combination of aggression and grace is potent. “We came to slaughter and leave no trace”. A fitting statement of intent of ever there was one.
Lacerate boasts a twisting groove that can knock down buildings and a clean vocal performance that’s immediately engaging. The Smile is the EP’s shortest cut, ably showcasing Bear’s ability to compress jagged walls of harsh distortion into barbed shapes that know how to hit hard.
Up next is the title track, a bruiser that strikes with an intelligent application of violence. It’ll chew you up as soon as it starts and spits you out at the end before your even realise what’s happening. It’s a journey, but a punishing one.
Closing with Metastatic, Bear deliver the closing beating with finesse and skill. Breaking skulls with precision force and intricate savagery, it’s a worthy way to finish an EP forged from considered brutality.
Anhedonia finds Bear in tip-top shape. There are less immediate hooks than some of Bear’s work, (although they’re certainly not absent), with Bear focusing instead on a holistic approach that sees them threading their heaviness with longer term substance. In essence, this is a great little EP that punches above its weight.
Wonderbox Metal 