Sink into the Stoner Sludge of PALE MARE “Mountain of Skulls”

Today I needed something heavy. Something mythological, a band that would rip me out of reality into a story that would leave me feeling like I had experienced a fundamental truth. Lucky for me, I’m listening to the new single from Pale Mare called “Mountain of Skulls.” This is stoner sludge that’s climbed out of the pits of hell to show us what real dread feels like. It starts slow and languid, and builds to a terrifying crescendo, taking me along for the ride like a good tune should. This video is a sneak peek at their new lineup — and maybe a new release via Seeing Red Records? We’ll see, but for now you can watch out premiere of “Mountain of Skulls” here, and catch them at one of their upcoming shows back east — dates below and tickets here.

Mountain of Skulls was directly inspired by the short story A Fragment by Lafcadio Hearn, from In Ghostly Japan. A pilgrim embarks on a treacherous climb up a harrowing mountain path, lead by a Bodhisattva. Terrible fear grips him at every step. As the sun rises on the range, the pilgrim sees that the mountain is made of human skulls. As explained by his guide, each skull is his own, from different lives lived, throughout the dawn of time. The story is a reflection on having lived many lives, facing challenges and ascending beyond them. Besides, what’s heavier than a Mountain of Skulls?

Mountain of Skulls is the first of 3 video singles that we made to present the new Pale Mare lineup to the world. Our sound has evolved with the new lineup and we wanted to represent that properly with some high quality music videos. For Mountain of Skulls we decided to go with a traditional performance video, wall of amps, stage lights and all, but we gave it a super trippy psychedelic treatment that twists and evolves as the video progresses. We wanted the video to be just as visually striking and interesting, as the tune is brutally heavy. Dig it.