Dionysian - Representations of the Id (2019)
Expanding our knowledge of one of the
less-covered countries' metal landscape is always a pleasure, and
it's that much easier to do when the bands share some link with one
you already know. Consequently, when we found out that the bassist
of this Malaysian sludge/doom group is none other than Trishay Trada
(of Ksyatriya, whose every release we've covered), we were eager to
check them out. Boasting four main songs, each around the
quarter-hour mark, followed by a cover track to close, this debut
album carries itself with intriguing style and confidence before the
music even starts.
That confidence (and length) is
reflected in the song titles, leading with “As Your Gentle Hands
Were Bedding My Lifeless Body in a Dark-Blue Crenmore Seraphim”.
After a few moments of rising background noise, light percussion and
guitar twangs burst out into full life, meeting thick bass waves with
bold drumming, and launching the guttural vocals and intricate
guitar-work once the foundation is well set. Much of the remainder
is instrumental, focusing on the twists and tangles found in
deep-dive riff extrapolations, but the selective application of the
vocals brings an extra punch and immediacy to their presence.
“Capitulation to the Word” follows,
using a number of the same techniques, but also finding room in its
bridges for more intense runs from the drummer, which the guitarist
and bassist weave around compellingly. There's also some cleaner
vocals introduced, which counter-point the overall increased
aggression of the song when compared to the opener. And as with that
first track, the band shows a remarkable skill in making these
sizable songs run so smoothly that they almost feel shorter than they
truly are. With “A Madman's Dream of a New God-Era to Become
True”, they switch things up, moving to a jazzy fluidity on the
drums while pluckings of an acoustic guitar ring out under the
impacts. The heaviness inevitably resurrects, of course, but with
that stretch of lighter tunefulness (which does get some return
installments throughout the song), its crashing arrival comes that
much harder. Amid the switching between those two modes, the song
eventually fuses them, holding the intensity while moving faster and
freer.
“Where the Statue Meets the Shore”
is the last of the core songs, opening its run with a meditative
exploration of echoing strings punctuated by the drummer's
percussion. As the song continues, it revisits approaches from each
of the other songs, combining them in new and intensified ways.
Leading through those numerous turns and meldings, it builds to an
impassioned climax, marking a fine finish to the band's first set of
songs. With the original attributed to Aleksandar Sariesvki, a cover
of “Uci Me Majko, Karaj Me” puts a cap on things. While it
certainly sounds heavy, checking the digital liner notes shows it to
have a humorous side, as it sings of a marriage with an absentee
bride. Dionysian perform it with a strong sense of the character
they'd established in the preceding songs, and while it serves as a
ramp out of those songs' fervor, it also shows the band's capable
handling of more compact material. A strong showing throughout, and
an admirable first release.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Asilo, DoOoM,
Dreamgrave, Odradek Room, Warrior Pope
~
