HEADS UP: BEAR BRAWLER - "Tales Of Deadly Addictions" ...

Bear Brawler are a Stoner/Sludge Metal Band from Bassie, Normandie and this is the follow-up release to the very good 'Tales from the Putrid Swamp' which came out last year. This French band know how to mix things up and this short but very entertaining EP shows they are not content with simply copying any one style. They have elements of everything from Eyehategod, Monkeypriest, Zoroaster, Crowbar, Down, Goatsnake to Black Pyramid and High on Fire. On top of all that, there is a strong southern rock flavor to some of the music and they also mix up the approaches going from the slightly complex to the more straight-forward and back again in each of these four tracks. While the band is not a doom metal band per-se, they certainly have an element of gloom in their sound too.

The vocals are deep, whiskey-soaked and throaty and there is a certain charm and class to the guitar work. The EP kicks off with a big meaty fat riff in 'From the Gutter to the Stars' before the band set up a cool, groovy swagger and that groove burns along till the song ends. This track is very infectious but is not your standard or obvious sludge-stoner-doom kind of tune. Bear Brawler can not be considered ground-breaking or overly original but they have their own personality and charm that can't be ignored. 'Whisky and Weed' (2 of my favorite things) has a stonerish doom chorus and a death-metalish verse and the tune just gets more massive in sound and heaviness as it progresses. Again this track is infectious and has a unique kind of vibe that is all their own. That is followed by 'Shine Down' which has even more filthy swagger and a decent amount of aggression and a pissed-off with the world kind of attitude and you got to love that. The EP ends all too quickly on another great track in '...To The Gutter' which is more of the same and by this stage of the EP, that is exactly what you want to hear.

At just 22 minutes, this EP is a pure joy to listen to, it is concise, fun but also with a lot of aggression and attitude. The band has some massive riffs, great vocals that are not overly predictable and the songs have an infectious blending of styles that is impossible to resist. This band must surely have a great future if this EP is anything to go by. Highly recommend this one ..... 9/10.


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