Pâro hails from Rochester, New York, but I would have thought they were from the frozen lands of Scandinavia after an initial listen. Post metal is a genre that always intrigues me but, like many genres these days, isn’t necessarily prescriptive enough on what to actually expect soundwise. Post rock and shoegaze are more common components of extreme metal these days, and bands like Dawn of Ouroboros, Deafhaven, and Embrium do a great job blending those aspects with the fury of black metal, whereas bands like Slow Crush and Holy Fawn push the boundaries of these genres without truly entering metal territory. At their core, Pâro is a solid post rock band that oozes emotion, with haunting melodies and a chill vibe. This emotional feel is enhanced with the black metal vocal approach, giving a post hardcore feel without any hardcore to be found. They sprinkle in speedier sections with blasting drums and tremolo picking, eerie symphonics and atmosphere, and a driving metal cadence that balances out the post rock core. The result is “Sketches of an Unseen Realm,” an incredible debut full length album that deftly balances the softer and harder and delivers a musical punch that is big and powerful. 

You would think the band were trying to make a liar out of me with opener “The New Fire.” It greets you with a powerful blizzard of frosty black metal, with blasting drums and tremolo picking. 80 seconds in, you begin to feel the change, before everything downshifts into full on post rock mode. You get a bassy driving riff underneath indie rock picking which eventually falls under the spell of a shoegazey cloud. And then the black metal assault returns, more actively blending in the post rock and creating lush melodies amidst the brutality. The dichotomy from section to section is striking, and it is what makes this song so great. It is a killer opening track.

“All Returns to Earth” starts the polar opposite of the opener, with post rock worship and melodic croons that transport me back to the early 2000’s. There is a progressive fabric throughout the entire song, exploring a variety of rhythms and melodies while genre bending the intricacies of indie rock with the aggression of black metal. I love the ever present slightly off kilter rhythms and lush melodies, such a great song!

“Waters of Life” brings me back to the indie / post rock / post hardcore stylings musically with lots of great moving guitar melodies. It layers in blackened vocals, ominous symphonics, and drumming with serious technical heft, including some nice fills and double bass sections. The guitars mostly stay restrained, occasionally amping up the distortion, but maintain their focus of driving the melody. The late instrumental layering that starts simple with just bass and drums, slowly adding in different guitar melodies and orchestration, creates a menacing atmosphere that closes things out nicely.

“Beneath the Unrelenting Sun” starts very tame and laid back before continuing the sinister aura from the previous track. Haunting choir-like voices and symphonics envelope a doomy post metal vibe with heavy guitar chugs and occasional old school black metal flourishes. The ending flirts with funeral doom before a brutal ending salvo.

“Ascend (with a Fire I Rise)” has a progressive doom feel, varying the guitar melodies and rhythms against the atmospheric wall of sound. It has a sound that is dark and aggressive, espousing the old school black metal spirit despite not purely so itself.

“Present Moment Eternally” is the album’s shortest at just under 3 minutes. It presents like a post hardcore song with its emotive vocals and straightforward riffs, but then it mixes in moody sections blending doom and black for a big heavy feel.

The first half of “Anchored” has the most black metal vibe of any track on the album. It blasts furiously out of the gate, hearkening back to the earlier lo fi raw era. Even the slower sections are truly just black metal riffs disguised in post rock form. But then a little over halfway through, you get a little bit of a bluesy / funky jam that is unexpected and yet somehow just works, continuing to demonstrate the creativity of the band’s song writing. This transitions into one final blackened sprint to the finish.

Album closer “Vision in Black” charts a more progressive course, blending eerie post rock with black metal overtones, haunting symphonics, and a doomy feel with varied rhythmic and tempo shifts. It has a nice build to the end.

The 8 songs here span just under 30 minutes, making the album easy to consume in a single session, the preferred method of listening. The order and flow work really well, with each song feeding the next and comprising the larger whole perfectly. Apparently the CD version has 2 extra songs that I have not heard since I only reviewed the digital version, but I would definitely love to hear more from Pâro! And since they do reside in North America, I am hoping to find a way to catch them in a live setting in the near future!