PATHFINDERS: Ares Vallis (THRASH): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Created in 2018, Pathfinders is one of the newcomers of the french metal scene. Three years after the creation of the band, the quintet releases with "Ares Vallis" its first album distributed by Music-Records.

The universe of the band revolves around the planet Mars and its space program "Mars Pathfinders". We could have expected to discover a shoegaze or psychedelic rock band. But no! Instead, the combo opts for a very frontal metal, which they themselves qualify as groove metal.

However the somewhat reductive qualifier could not cover all aspects of their personality. Whether it is in metalcore (especially on the high-pitched scream that comes back frequently), in djent ('Annihilate Them All' and 'Explose Inside') through very modern guitar phrasings, or even in black metal ('Imposters'), the musicians are at their ease.

Among these influences, some pieces manage to draw their pin from the game. Of course, 'Imposters' scores at the beginning of the album, with a good groove in the Lamb Of God style, sharp and very modern guitars, a nice chorus and unchained screams announcing a liberating violence. 'Damned Earth', with its Soilwork-like intro riff, is also one of the great satisfactions of the record. If modern metal bands in the broadest sense of the word sometimes tend to fall into the easy and cliché, this track is a very nice counter-example, as evidenced by the well constructed chorus.

Clean and professional, we have to underline the impeccable character of the music in the execution but also in the production, reinforcing the very modern character of this record. And among the actors of the combo, it is necessary to notice the performance of Clément Lévy on vocals and his "fourteen" octaves which are enough to leave the listener speechless. Irreproachable in guttural vocals, he is just as much in a clean screamed register sometimes hallucinating in the height of the notes reached ('The Light', 'Evolution').

Globally, the proposed work is very structured and homogeneous. Sometimes even a little too much... Some small innovations could have been interesting, as on 'The Light', bringing some dynamics and freshness to the album, with a more peaceful atmosphere. To note also the effort of the band to propose an intro ('Landing') on which one imagines perfectly the musicians to go on stage, and an outro, with 'Peste Noire' and its 8 unexpected minutes of which the last two are worthy of a film soundtrack.

"Ares Vallis" is a satisfying and encouraging first album, which will take all its sense on stage, allowing its bestial energy to be fully deployed! - Official website

PATHFINDERS

ARES VALLIS

MUSIC RECORDS

THRASH