An instrumental project, Vipassi proved their worth on their colourful and adventurous debut album “Sunyata” (2017). The band has been around since 2007. “Lightless” promises something more technical and experimental.
Although there is gloom, the sounds are diverse and colourful in a post-rock way. “Lightless”, the opening piece, cleverly stops for breath before expanding through an emotive and rich soundscape. The drama runs through to the end. Not a second is wasted. This is true of the whole album. “Labyrinthine Hex” proceeds busily. Technical and energetic, it bursts through the figurative labyrinth with the aid of its bold, progressive patterns and the suggestive notes of the fretless bass guitar. The mood changes. Bells chime. The bass makes its quiet statement. The landscape is verdant with an array of delicate sounds. A burst of energy intervenes and the piece ends with the quiet sound of the bells. “Morningstar” doesn’t at first seem to be going anywhere but Vipassi ramp up the heaviness, and there’s a fine balance between the mystical and the technical. It’s a potent mix with twists and turns galore. Vocals and lyrics would just get in the way of this luxurious instrumental story-telling. It’s progressive but strongly experimental but always fluid and expressive of a kaleidoscopic world. A mystical background complements volleys of explosive progressive metal – not a standard description by any means, but this piece of vibrancy and life is the best way I can sum up “Shapshu”.
“Phainesthai” again has a dreamy, mystical air. Vipassi play with us, stopping, starting, engaging us in technicality and powerfully emotive aural images. It’s not melancholic. It’s too direct for that but then softer passages, enhanced by the bass, appear and take us into a dream world. A technical section leads us into a colourful progressive journey and drama of an epic but controlled kind. I half expected narrative as I heard the beginning of “Ruination Glow”, such is the similarity of mood and softness with Cynthesis and Abnormal Thought Patterns. But it develops without it, moving into sharper and heavier progressive territory and leaving a trail of wonderment behind before leaving space for reflection. Vipassi are good at this, enabling us to open up our minds to the listening. They do not dictate. Vipassi set the tone, as they now do with the darkly sombre “Neon Rain”. We pass through a chiming, pattering world with a subtle choral sound before a guitar solo takes us into a new expanse. I realised as we entered the world of “Promethea”, the final piece, that the music had become more adventurous as the album progressed. “Promethea” is atmospheric and has the air of a fantastic journey. Musical virtuosity comes at us from all angles without any excess of ostentation. The music is so dazzling that inevitably there’s showmanship but it’s all coherent. The adventure continues, taking us through vibrant soundscapes and latterly through a passage of ambient darkness.
I used the word above – expressive. “Lightless” is an outstanding album. Coming from a progressive metal base, it is full of imagination, creativity and drive. The timing is spot on. The music has all of precision, flow and even playfulness. Vipassi have taken great care to control the mood and the light settings, delighting us in the process with interwoven technical and instrumental trimmings. There’s no prescription so we can imagine what we like, but for sure the world and the journey that Vipassi depict here are captured in glorious technicolour
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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