Band:	The Salt Pale Collective
Album:	A Body That Could Pass Through Stones And Trees
Style:	Post-metal
Release date:	August 25, 2023
A review by:	musclassia

01. Tria Prima
02. The Great Work
03. The Metabaron
04. Exploding Triangles
05. Sermon Of The Edacious Revenant
06. A Body That Could Pass Through Stones And Trees
07. The King Crowned In Red

The Salt Pale Collective was formed in the north of England in 2021 by members of Cumbrian prog-metal outfit The Sun Explodes due to a passion to produce music of a more raw and primal kind. Rawness can take many forms in metal, but in the case of A Body That Could Pass Through Stones And Trees, it is an emotional rawness brought to life in post-doom form.

It is clearly a stylistic jump from the clean production, melodic vocals and modern prog guitar tones of The Sun Explodes to the bleak, sinister, insidious metal found on The Salt Pale Collective’s debut album, which follow’s last year’s self-titled debut EP. Influences on this record named by the band include Neurosis, Amenra and Blood Incantation (found in a local news article on the group; nice to see local press supporting underground metal), and one can certainly draw parallels between the use of electronics and synths on this album and those pioneered within this sphere of metal in the 90s by Neurosis. One also has to assume that at least some Hydra Head Records alumni played their part in shaping the sound of The Salt Pale Collective; the use of noise/electronics mixed with grim doom/sludge/post-metal and fierce roaring growls has more than a hint of Old Man Gloom to it.

There is also, however, a cinematic angle to A Body That Could Pass Through Stones And Trees; seemingly conceived as a single whole (and available on Bandcamp as a single 43-minute track) with seamless transitions between tracks, and paired with a companion noise/ambient soundtrack piece “The Crimson Queen Has No Tongue”, there appear to be grander visions at play here. Opening track “Tria Prima” is very much a scene-setter; synths, choirs, spoken word, and gradually escalating drums and guitars slowly ratchet up the tension, with only a brief fake-out at the end where it dissipates to saxophone and space electronics disturbing the progression towards the explosion of aggression on “The Great Work”. Later on, “The Metabaron” is comprised of a prolonged period of ambient synth.

When the metal is unleashed, the trudging, dense guitars and feral growls on “The Great Work” offer up that primal feel that the group were aiming for; there’s a touch of old Cult Of Luna to the band’s sound at its heaviest. However, this is post-metal, and there is dynamic range on the record. The clean vocals are quite reminiscent in tone and phrasing of Loïc Rossetti, and the synth-laden midsection of this track does also remind me a bit of recent The Ocean. The combination of the clean vocals (which also have a touch of Greg Puciato to them tonally) with brooding, lurching riffs on “Exploding Triangles” is very satisfying.

The album has slight niggles that maybe hold it back a tad for me. That aforementioned saxophone moment at the end of “Tria Prima” derails the album’s vibe for me while it’s present, adding an aimless chromatic feel at a moment where it doesn’t really suit. The Salt Pale Collective’s sound certainly feels consistent as it progresses, but the back-to-back of “Exploding Triangles” and “Sermon Of The Edacious Revenant” is a tad samey with the slow, lurching riffs. However, the latter track does pleasantly mix things up in the last couple of minutes with well-integrated organ sounds, and while I don’t enjoy the first appearance of the saxophone, it fits quite nicely into the Ocean-esque title track, a satisfyingly expansive song in terms of progressiveness and range that is elevated by the moody saxophone solo.

Everything that The Salt Pale Collective have been working towards on this debut album comes to a head on closing song “The King Crowned In Red”. At times it is grimly trudging and belligerent, but it also explores melody, first with the clean vocals and texturing, and then as it evolves by bringing in guest vocalist Annina Melissa. The interplay between her tender voice and the other vocalists as the song first subsides and builds again is captivating; it ends A Body That Could Pass Through Stones And Trees on a bleak yet emotionally charged note, and cements The Salt Pale Collective as a new name to pay attention to in post-metal.