Bear – Anhedonia
Bear – Anhedonia
Pelagic Records
05/22/2026
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8/10
Belgium. A nation I’ve learned a lot about over the last few years, and have a huge respect for the calibre of bands coming from the country. Whether it’s Wiegedood, Psychonaut, Wolvennest, or the mighty Amenra, there’s some serious talent there. Pelagic Records has an eye for talent, so mathcore exponents Bear already get a seal of approval, even if this is both a band and genre I’m not familiar with. Scouring their Facebook page, I see the words:
“WE PLAY SHOWS. WE MAKE MUSIC. WE WRECKTHINGS”
No pretentious descriptions, just a very succinct and blunt description of the band. With a sound described as one that balances “math-inflected complexity with visceral, live-wire intensity”, I’m expecting something along the lines of The Dillinger Escape Plan, or Fronterier (again, not a genre I know much about). Without any further ado, let’s get into this and see whether Bear belong in the cuddly teddy or vicious grizzly category…
Well, immediately, we see that Bear are not playing games or taking prisoners! Straight from the get-go, they go straight for the jugular with a rusty jagged blade! There are rare moments of melody with the cleaner choruses during ‘Empty Markers’ (think of Chimaira, Mark Hunter style), a faint light shining in the blackened, murky abyss. However, your senses are ambushed with a relentless assault crushing assault. It only get’s more intense as the song progresses, and they continue to pile on the pressure. Though they somehow keep this engaging and fresh.
Things get slower and more painful during ‘Lacerate’. Rather than in rapid machine gun fire, the walls of distortion come at you in thicker slabs of artillery bombardment. Yet whilst you’re taking cover from this onslaught, there’s time to sit back and admire the intricate and technical precision within the music. Hell, even the chorus is catchy, proving that heavy as hell music can be anthemic! Things get even dirtier and slower somehow during ‘The Smile’, a song so dense and cosmically heavy it would make Meshuggah blush! Until frantic bursts in the mid-section will turn any mosh pit into a game of survival!
Look, I’m sold on Bear! We’re only 3 songs in, and it’s kind of sad that there are only 2 songs left of this EP. The penultimate song being the EP’s title track, ‘Anhedonia’. Once again, they prove that music that’s punishingly heavy can still be anthemic, though this chorus is anything but melodic despite presenting itself with an instantly memorable quality. If there are any survivors from the pummelling low-end barrage at the end of that track, ‘Metastatic’ aims to finish you off! Though enticing early 00s-style lead guitar riffs lure you in, this is not one to admire from a distance. Rather, this is one that’ll get headbanging violently along to in approval and tearing your bedroom furniture up in the process!
Bear. What a find and discovery from Belgium’s seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of talent!
TRACK LISTING
01. Empty Markers
02. Lacerate
03. The Smile
04. Anhedonia
05. Metastatic
LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/bearpropaganda
https://www.instagram.com/bear.propaganda
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
