Just so you know, simply having miserable lyrics does not make you DSBM. Despite the tag on the group’s Facebook, it is an anomaly here.
Right, this one person project is from Taiwan it seems, home of the mighty Chthonic but that’s probably about all they have in common.
A spoken word intro drenched in sombre, keyboards is suddenly ‘brightened’ by beautiful almost synthwave keyboards with a lilting, melancholic melody. That lifts into a keyboard sound that Countless Skies mike like for an intro; beautiful production here, bright and clear and spot on.
This sound rifts and melds into ‘Helpless’. There is a kind of proggy feel to this, a subtle melodeath before the ponderous funeral doom descends. Piano leads the tune as harsh vocals growl, a little Shape Of Despair here before that melodeath lift once more. Somewhere between the aforementioned Countless Skies without the lead breaks and VNV Nation at their moat introspective. With the superb production this is effortless to listen to and the emotion is almost tangible. Most definitely melancholic as opposed to depressive, the melody is too uplifting for anything else, rising towards a hazy sun through clouds perhaps.
My Taiwanese being non-existent, the next song arrives on piano and half spoken, rough edged vocals, opening out back into the funeral doom riff and sound. It’s lacking a little somehow. It is OK, workmanlike maybe but seems to be mired in its own spot despite the fluid playing before it pushes hard into melodeath, jarring keyboards rattling my head as it does and the level of engagement rises. In the end the slower sections leave me a little adrift, but still a good showcase for the musical talent.
‘Mercy’s Gate’, a piano instrumental opens into ‘Hope’. And hope this song is indeed. A hugely melodic, funeral opening that at every second you feel the power beneath and the melodeath just waiting to rise. And rise it does on keyboards, an almost Opeth twist to the keyboard heavy sound. The half heard spoken words whisper in a wash of gentle guitar and keyboards before the riff give it wings to spread and, lord when the keyboards and guitar take it, we are in the hair prickling world of Countless Skies here. Your heart holds the beat, you are kind of flying through the clouds with it held aloft by the melody. A fantastic ending
Funeral doom, super melodic death metal, a wash of prog and exemplary playing with just about a perfect production and mix. Unexpected from the PR.
The really strange thing is how long it took me to get into this. The first two or three listens I struggled, hearing only the funeral parts. No idea why. But when that final track clicked the whole album opened up.
Any fan of highly melodic, keyboard drenched death and funeral doom should hopefully get there sooner than me.
Excellent.
(8/10 Gizmo)
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