Sometimes compared to the likes of
ISIS,
Mastodon, and
Baroness UK quintet
DVNE are, as you might expect, a band with reputation for heaviness and it is a reputation more than justified, however heaviness is not the only weapon in
DVNE's armory.
DVNE are a band who can roar, rage and rumble but they are also a band who can whisper, soothe and placate, they are a band who put as much emphasis on melody as they do muscle, a balance they demonstrate to great effect on their latest release "
Etemen Ænka"(
Metal Blade Records)
Victor Vicart (guitar/vocals/keys);
Daniel Barter (guitar/vocals);
Greg Armstrong (bass);
Dudley Tait (drums) and
Evelyn May (keys) should be rightly proud of what they have achieved with "
Etemen Ænka" as this is an album that sees them not only equaling the achievements of their more well established contemporaries but, in
Desert Psychlist's opinion, sees
DVNE overtaking those same contemporaries and leaving them floundering in their wake. "
Etemen Ænka" is an album packed to the gills with top draw performances from all concerned, the guitars crunch, swirl and chime, bass lines growl, boom, rumble and thrum, drums thunder and shimmer, and the vocals are a mixture of clean melodic croons, throat ripping roars and bear-like bellows all of which are underscored by huge swathes of textured keyboard coloring. Songs with titles like "
Court of the Matriarch", "
Adræden", "
Mleccha" and "
Satuya" are awash with elements of post-rock, doom, sludge, prog metal and even classic rock, these elements blended together and delivered in undulating waves of sound that seamlessly shift between ambient and ferocious, touching all points in-between, to create a sound that is as beautiful in places as it is brutal in others.
Expectations were high for this band after the release of the excellent "
Asheran" but with "
Etemen Ænka"
DVNE have gone way beyond excellent and pushed their music into territories of heavy music that we haven't even invented words for yet.
Check 'em out ....
© 2021 Frazer Jones
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