Release Date: September 29th 2023. Record Label: Dark Essence Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Never Enough - Tracklisting
1.All Masters, All Servants
2.Pseudanthium Aionios
3.Leichenhalle
4.Repentance of a Bastard
5.You Will Never Be Enough
Members
Insert Members Later.
Review:
Norwegian Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal collective Dwaal have been through the wars since their acclaimed 2020 debut album Gospel Of The Vile. The band have gone through the COVID Pandemic, Layoffs, 3 Breakups, 5 mental breakdowns, 5 hospitalisations and 1 near-death experience. So you can see why Dwaal offers a more nightmarish and bleak experience with new album Never Enough when compared to their last album. The record is full of harsh vocals and brutally insightful lyrics that's merged with heavy Sludge/Post-Metal apocalyptic sounds of this album which is balanced out by moments of Psych Metal, Shoegaze and sinister Stoner vibes.
Never Enough is spread across five tracks of gloomy desolate and highly atmospheric soundscapes with Dwaal injecting moments of Progressive leaning Sludge/Post-Metal with that trippy Shoegaze element that gives the record a slightly uplifting sound in places. The Ambient chants and grooves appear early on the album within the opening track of All Masters, All Servants.
Dwaal operate within the gloomy Post-Metal beats of bands such as Neurosis, ISIS and Cult Of Luna which appears within the opening track of "All Masters, All Servants" with a trippy Pelican/Russian Circles instrumental Psychedelic sound towards the later stages of the track. However, the majority of the song sees Dwaal delivering a slightly depressing style of Post-Metal with the harsh vocals offering no respite from the creative darkness that resides within this album.
Second song Pseudanthium Aionios sees Dwaal bring an almost Death Metal vibe to the record which is mostly heard within the vocals yet again and the intense lyrics that accompany the song. The instrumental work from Dwaal flirts between Doomed Out Heaviness and Spaced Out Sludge/Post-Metal theatrics with a cinematic Psychedelic feel that allows the band to provide a thumping bass line to hold everything together. There's some great extended Ambient sludgy guitars that evolve into a more punishing experience.
Third song Leichenhalle opens with a soulful Post-Rock instrumental piece before moments of Psych/Spaced Out sounds allows Dwaal to slowly open the gateway for a more punishing style of music that's more Progressive and an air of dangerous quality to it all. The song does move along at a slow pace but Dwaal knows when to bring to switch the mood for a more vibrant experience especially when the Alternative/Shoegaze parts of their music both vie for creative supremacy for perhaps the standout track on the album. The vocals remain brutally harsh but are quite easy to understand allowing the listener to easily navigate around the dark and sometimes twisted narrative of the track.
The final two tracks of Repentance Of A Bastard and You Will Never Be Enough offers over twenty minutes of sheer Sludge/Post-Metal carnage with the hell-ish experiences Dwaal went through over the last few years to be fully laid down on the table for listeners to fully immerse themselves with. The instrumental work goes through multiple changes with Dwaal adapting to the style of Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal that brings the heaviest destructive atmosphere to the album with world-weary Psychedelic/Ambient tones being brilliantly effective especially within Repentance Of A Bastard being the most technically impressive track on the album.
The final song "You Will Never Be Enough” carries the album to it's almighty dramatic conclusion but a more twisted and distorted vision that sees the band move away from their early "Post-Stoner" recordings to a more primal based Sludge/Post-Metal band.
Never Enough is quite a challenging and brutally bleak sounding record but this allows the album to quite a SONIC fuelled experience that has intense and sometimes uplifting Psychedelic beats throughout. This record is perhaps considered therapeutic by Dwaal with what they've all experienced recently and I applaud them for delivering such a wonderfully honest and refreshing style of music that left me wanting to hear more.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Dwaal and Dark Essence Records for the promo.
Never Enough will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Dark Essence Records from September 29th 2023.
Links
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