Sometimes, when you review albums, it seems to take forever to pick apart a release enough to get some idea of where its creators are coming from. After all, a big part of reviewing – especially in metal – is essentially giving the reader a sort of Cliffs Notes version of an album, complete with genre/artist signposts, to give the reader an idea of what they’re getting into. Some of the most challenging albums I’ve reviewed on that front have taken me a good week or two to figure out exactly where they sit in relation to genre boundaries and comparison to other artists, because either there’s too much going on, or it just doesn’t sit neatly in any set of descriptors I try to place it in.
But then, there are other albums where the musical reference points fall into place almost too easily. My favourite album of 2023 (Omnikoloss – Wandering Through Concrete Valleys) was one: five minutes in, and I knew exactly what that album was, and how best to describe it to someone who hadn’t yet had the pleasure. Dystopia’s latest offering falls squarely into that latter category. Which is not to say that De Verboden Diepte I: Veldslag op de Rand van de Wereld is a simple, straightforward album, because it isn’t, but the musical influences and reference points are front and centre here, not to mention remarkably diverse in nature. A pithier opening to this review might have been along the lines of “what the hell sort of a black metal band – post/fusion or otherwise – has me referencing No Doubt, Terry Riley, and Oblivians in a single review?”. The answer to which remains to be seen.
The first of this kaleidoscope of musical influences, which isn’t so much ‘obvious’ as it basically jumps out at you in a slightly deranged fashion right from the off, is the medieval folky, melancholic, melodic end of second wave black, best known by way of early Satyricon. The opening of the first track, Dood van de wachters, in particular is aggressively akin to something off Nemesis Divina, but then the brass section starts up, and it all gets a bit odd. The trumpets initially sound a bit like they’re intruding from another track, but after a bit it all starts to come together, although the trumpets do continue to alternate between reminding me of George Michael’s You Have Been Loved and No Doubt’s Spiderwebs. Both of which are compliments, just so we’re clear.
There’s also a spacy, psychedelic vibe, that sounds not unlike Spacemen 3 in places (Ladies and Gentlemen, we are floating in the dominions of hell?), and there are passages that could easily be the weirder end of Terry Riley and the Kronos Quartet’s back catalogue (Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector springs to mind specifically). In terms of mixing that with black metal the obvious comparison is Oranssi Pazuzu, which unsurprisingly stands up well, but there’s plenty more going on here, and Dystopia’s thrash roots are still alive and kicking in this first onslaught. The thrash is mainly in the vocals (when the black metal gremlin vocals aren’t in play) and the speed of the guitar work, but as we’ll cover later, Dystopia have a lot more ammunition in their arsenal than gremlins and thrash, but more about track three when we get there.
Track two, Giftige Woorden, translates as ‘Poisonous Words’, and honestly, it’s fitting. This one comes hurtling straight out of the gate with a peculiar combination that I can only describe as deathy black metal with thrash elements, crossed with the sort of garage rock/punk that Oblivians and The Detroit Cobras were/are so good at inflicting on the world. Then suddenly we’ve got low-key harmonies and an ambient instrumental section that’s part atmospheric post, part Terry Riley, with a dash of what I gather the Americans call MOR. Then there’s a bit that’s honestly a bit generic, in the thrashy/death sense, but frankly enough’s happened so far that it’s almost a welcome respite. Then it gets a bit doomy and posty towards the end, which is not only distinct from everything that’s gone before it thus far, it’s also probably my favourite bit thus far – I’d genuinely listen to an entire album that sounds like the last few minutes of this track.
Track three, Eerst Enkelen, Toen Honderen, Toen Duizenden (which you’re just going to have to remember, because I’m not typing it out again), takes things in yet another different direction, with a staccato, martial beat that alternates with faster, thrashier bits, and frequently fades out almost completely into slower sections that linger over the few notes involved. And there are very few notes in places here, with long stretches of a sparse, meandering sound with coarse, sort of affably demonic vocals over the top. The sheer number of different ‘personalities’ here, represented by changes in vocal style, pace and musical style is actually quite impressive. The overall effect is one of a sort of musical lazy river ride, that perfectly matches the energy of each entity it encounters along the way. Parts of it are glacial, lingeringly hostile black metal, other parts could almost be a blackened power metal ballad, and yet others are fairly straight post-black, with some thrash still lurking under its skin. It’s barmy, and yet it’s glorious. I love it.
The closer to this magical mystery tour is De Val, which is basically all of the above, only the post and atmospheric bits have toddled off to bed, and let the thrash, death and power parts of Dystopia off the leash, to wreak merry havoc with that classic second wave black sound. It’s fast, technical, brutal, and it doesn’t let up in any real sense from the opening drone to whatever that droning power-y bit at the end is.
So, there we are. Even by the standards of the sort of albums I tend to review, this one’s been a journey. I’m not sure where that journey’s left me, but it was fun getting here. You know when bands have a huge change in sound, and sometimes you get that one mess album where they’ve clearly thrown in absolutely everything from the before sound, the after sound, and everything in between, because either the new sound hasn’t quite crystallised yet, or purely because they can? This feels like one of those albums, and given the sheer amount going on here (plus how long Dystopia have been doing this – the trumpets appeared in 2015), plus how well most of it is done, I’m inclined to say that it’s the latter. Dystopia have given us an album that doesn’t believe in sticking to a single genre for more than a couple of minutes because, well, they can.
That’s not to say it’s perfect (few albums are). For instance, although the harsh, thrashier vocals are done well, Dystopia’s sound is at it’s most distinct and captivating when all those other vocal elements come out to play, and the same goes for the overall sound. There are a few parts where it all lapses into fairly straight deathy thrash, and while there’s nothing wrong with them technically, it’s not why I enjoyed this album. As is so often the case when I review bands that are mixing genres together in new and exciting ways, I find myself wanting Dystopia to fully lean into the weird cocktail they’re created: I feel like they haven’t entirely committed to what they’re trying to do here. Like, they’re most of the way there, but I suspect fully realising the vision here is going to involve letting go of a bit more of the thrash. Not that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed it as it is, but I feel like there’s an even better, madder album to come in the future.
(7.5/10 Ellie)
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