By Andrew Bansal
Back in the early 90’s, Australian band disEMBOWELMENT were at the forefront of the funeral doom scene, but after their 1993 release “Transcendence Into The Peripheral”, they split up. Nearly two decades later, two members from the band, drummer Paul Mazziotta and guitarist Matthew Skarajew reformed with a new line-up under the name “d.USK”, in order to present the disEMBOWELMENT material on stage. But in addition, they also formed Inverloch, a new band with the same line-up. This band’s debut mini-album “Dusk…Subside” continues from where disEMBOWELMENT left off, and gives listeners a taste of what to expect from Inverloch in the near and distant future.
Right from the moment I pressed ‘play’, I found myself captivated by this 22-minute masterpiece. “Within Frozen Beauty” and “Shadows Of The Flame” form a large chunk of these 22 minutes, and are extremely progressive. Eerily tense passages provide an apt build-up to both of these tunes, followed by doses of unbridled heaviness arranged amongst beautifully crafted guitar melodies, and then winding down with another quiet segment. Sandwiched between them is “The Menin Road”, a tune that very much defines and demonstrates what funeral doom is all about. Hauntingly slow and epic, this composition is minimalistic in style, but actually manages to hold my attention better than the other two, and I would say it’s my favorite track on this 3-song opus. It epitomizes the “less is more” phrase to perfection.
Besides the brilliance of the music, the cover artwork couldn’t have been any better than it is, simply because it fits the vibe. That bleak forest depicted on the cover is pretty much the exact same picture one would imagine in his or her mind while listening to this music. Props to Inverloch for creating such a strong package for their debut release. Because of the fantastic cover, the vinyl version looks very enticing to me, and that’s the one I would pre-order, using the Relapse Records link below.
Inverloch’s “Dusk…Subside” is one of the darkest, most haunting and beautiful pieces of heavy music I’ve ever heard. Strongly recommended for fans of death/doom metal.
Rating: 9.5/10
Related: Interview
Track Listing:
1. Within Frozen Beauty
2. The Menin Road
3. Shadows Of The Flame
Record Label: Relapse
Release Dates:
April 10th 2012 (North America)
April 16th 2012 (Europe)
Links:
Inverloch Facebook
Relapse Records Artist Page