20 Buck Spin have seen me right this last couple of years. Hulder, Blood Incantation and one of my albums of the year (still cogitating and deliberating as I type) Worm with ForeverGlade. Due to this, expectation is high with Dream Unending’s debut release. Add to those hopes the fact that this project is the new born baby of Tomb Mold’s Derrick Vella and Innumerable Forms mastermind Justin De Torre and I started to get the tingles.
I decided to prepare for this review by delving into the recent past for both musicians. A quick spin of the dark despairing Death Metal of Innumerable Forms “Punishment in Flesh“ from 2018 and then “Planetary Clairvoyance” from Tomb Mold – an album that I gave a resounding 8/10 a couple of years ago. A lot of promise!
If I am honest when I first glanced at the blurb sent out by Ave’s ruthless editor I did not even glance at the personnel of Dream Unending – my cheap Black kohl eyeliner scarred eyes were drawn to the phrase “The Cure-esque guitars”. That’s it- I’m in!
On “Tide Turns Eternal” Messrs Vella and De Torre have left the comfort of North America and travelled to Blighty for inspiration – as well as Robert Smith and Co. the doomy deliciousness of the so called Peaceville 3. Atmosphere is definitely on the cards and Dream Unending are playing with a few up their sleeves as well.
Entrance is a gentle post rock sounding opener. A gentle pulse hums under a bright yet sad guitar line it segues wonderfully into “Adorned in Lies” a mighty slab of Death Doom that grows and grows, its guitar stabs and gargantuan drums matched in grandiosity by the vocals of De Torre. There is a gothic Anathema spiral here and a slab of Paradise Lost anguish there and then a foray into the forest for Pornography/Seventeen Sessions era Cure guitar chords and space.
It is at this point in proceedings that I realise that the PR are telling the truth and this band have hit all the right markers whilst putting their own 2021 stamp on this album. The lighter passages offer some air and space to make the darkness even more heavy and claustrophobic. “In Cipher I Weep” has a guitar break that goes all David Gilmour before a thundering riff brings it back to a gallop. This old goth starts to hear elements of Fields of the Nephillim in the mix as well – another band that liked to mix light and dark to paint their floury pictures and indeed “The Needful” is definitely “Dawnrazor” adjacent with a gruff death growl rather than McCoy’s slightly cleaner take.
This album has two title tracks. Well kinda. Sat either side of chilled instrumental “Forgotten Farewell” are Dream Unending and Tide Turns Eternal.
The former is a crushing juggernaut – 11 articulated minutes long it’s riffs thunder down the aural motorway before jack-knifing into a proggy ethereal layby partway through. I gotta say it took me a little by surprise and I nearly hit my head on the dash, such was the change in speed and direction. However, I soon sat back and listened to actor Richard Poe (of Star Trek TNG, Voyager and Deep Space 9 and many audio books) narrate before the crushing riffs and vocals send us back on our journey. The finale of this album and title track proper oozes in on a pastel post rock vibe before a the oncoming storm is heralded by double kick drums and soaring guitars.
There is definitely something “posty” about this track and indeed the band in general – whether that that is the post punk stylings of The Cure, the elements of post rock that add to the feel and atmosphere woven amongst the tracks or even a sense of post hardcore that I got in this final track – evoking as it does the likes of Wear Your Wounds and Pianos Become the Teeth but always with a fucking huge dose of doom death as the overarching flavour. I can find no details regarding the lush female vocals that appear here but the magical air they create is exquisite and adds another delicious ingredient into what was already a tasty album.
Dream Unending provide an intriguing trip into the world where Doom and ethereal lushness meet. It is a path that is well worth taking a loved one down for a winter meander.
(8.5/10 Matt Mason)
Leave a Reply