Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Strong Bear
Label: Self-released
Released: 2007
Strong Bear is a solo project by Bernard Pintar, who, after playing in Heavy Hamsters, Wastem and Nadangel, decided to go his own way musically, kicking things off with Strong Bear and its first album Arcane Coloured Head: Chimeric Mountain Will Fall. Bernard wrote the whole album himself (apart from the opener Deep Man Pt.1), music and lyrics included, produced it himself too (together with his Nadangel buddy Mihael Roškar), mixed it, and on top of all that drew the cover art. The debut brings 12 tracks, two of them spoken interludes, rooted in heavy metal with touches of progressive and thrash metal.
The opening address by Roškar in Deep Man Pt. 1 leads us into three quarters of an hour of album, but unfortunately it almost puts you off listening any further right from the start, since with its dreadful English pronunciation it sounds like a little schoolboy who’s only just started learning the language. Maybe it would have been better to stick to the native tongue, because in English the words clearly don’t flow all that smoothly. Hope for a better continuation is raised by Sign or Dream, which hurls us into brutal, almost thrashy guitar sawing with interesting riffs and inventive little additions. As far as the guitar work goes, the album really can’t be faulted: the songs are built thoughtfully, the production is clear enough, the drums are written effectively, only the rhythm guitar could be a bit cleaner, since it often drowns out the otherwise good lead guitar. The problem is once again the vocals, which are unfortunately rather weak, and the rather sloppy English pronunciation pops up again too, though luckily it doesn’t cause Bernard too much trouble. Evasive Part stands out with a catchy chorus that has you headbanging in no time, and at the end of the song you get a great solo that keeps ramping up in speed. In Feel the Lie, Bernard spits out the verses angrily with almost thrash-like aggression, which is spoiled in places by a spoken part with that horrible, broken English again. Let me stop here for a moment on the lyrics. Like Mustaine, Pintar has found God and talks about it in the lyrics too. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s his perfectly legitimate decision and deserves respect, but he piles on quite a few clichés and mild “fanaticisms” that non-believers have a hard time listening to. Vision of Revelation is another aggressive heavy thrasher with an effective chorus, while Raped Words spoils the whole picture with some kind of “groovy meets oriental overtones” that sticks out a bit from the overall sound. Sleep and Eyes is a calm, acoustic, slightly sugary ballad that sounds almost like a lullaby, and what wakes you from it is the best moment of the album, the track Soul in Pain, where Ozren Kokol (Nothing Over Beer) and Denis Kelnarič (Hellraiser) join in as guests, growling and screaming the verses, while Bernard takes over the good chorus with clean vocals. From the guitar standpoint, Soul in Pain is also one of the album’s more brutal moments, with sweep picking and pinch harmonics making it sound almost death metal. We Can Choose surprises with a jazz fusion touch and quiet singing that doesn’t quite convince, and the more serious direction of the album is thoroughly wrecked by Cacle Radio, a completely failed goof, and the worn-out Comic Figure. We could have lived without both of them.
Arcane Coloured Head has a few very bright moments, which unfortunately hide behind the weaker ones too often. Strong Bear still suffers from quite a few teething problems. The instrumental potential is big, the vocals and lyrics need improving, which the next album will definitely have to take into account, but you have to give Bernard credit for the courage and effort he put into this project.
Lineup
Bernard Pintar – guitars, synths, vocals
GUESTS:
Mihael Roškar – spoken word and additional vocals
GUEST VOCALS ON SOUL IN PAIN:
Ozren Kokol (Evil)
Denis Kelnarič (Tree)
Bernard Pintar (Angel)
Mihael Roškar (Soul)
Production
Bernard Pintar and Mihael Roškar
Tracklist
1. Deep Man Pt.1 (Warning)
2. Sign or Dream
3. Evasive Part
4. Feel the Lie
5. Vision of Revelation
6. Raped Words
7. Sleep and Eyes
8. Soul in Pain
9. Chimeric Mountain Will Fall
10. We Can Choose
11. Cacle Radio
12. Comic Figure
