First Impressions
Now this is much more like it. As far as "consistency" goes with this band, this is probably my favorite sound I have heard from them.
So, just like Plastic House was their take on Synthwave, this is their take on doom metal. There are so many elements of Doom here. First of all, and the most important, the slow and very atmospheric nature of the soundscapes. Everything is coated in reverb, like you're hearing it come down from the very top of the mountain in the cover.
It's also the most conventional sounding album I have heard from them. It is still absolutely insane and not conventional at all. But compared to Every Rock or Choirs Of The Eye... yeah this is about ten times easier to digest than those albums... I would say about a hundred times in the case of Every Rock.
Now, just because I called this their take on doom metal, doesn't mean it strictly shares it's DNA with it. There are still quite a bit of synths, and a lot of jarring and unconventional chords, melodies and rhythms that put this closer to jazz.
What this album does best is combine all those influences and bits of ideas into a pretty seamless listening experience. This is the first time I've found myself listening to a Kayo Dot album and not once being jarred by their strange ideas. Mind you, jarring is not bad. Choirs Of The Eye is an absolute masterpiece and it's entire purpose IS to jar. But my point is, not only is this accessible, but it's kind of a very easy listen.
There is something about it, which somehow manages to surpass it's strangeness and makes it very fitting for something like a background listen or, if you want to go more extreme with it, meditative purposes. I feel like if you're used to metal screams you can put this on and kind of just drift away with it.
The biggest example of this would be my absolute favorite song in here, and one of my favorite Kayo Dot songs, period. Void In Virgo.
This song is bliss decanted into a 9 minute song. It is so spacey and beautiful that it could be a Pink Floyd with minimal modifications. The atmospheric sound of the album is at it's peak here. It makes you feel like you're floating in space. They make you wait for the chorus for almost half of the song, but when it hits... holy shit. It insanely cathartic. The melodies are perfect, it's intensity is still mellow but somehow manages to sound absolutely huge. It's probably the simplest song of the album, but that is to it's benefit.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you have my second favorite song here. Spectrum Of One Color. Which manages to cram in so many crazy and kind of funky ideas in just 5 minutes. It's got really cool riffs, and a really unexpectedly awesome bassline at the beginning. By the end you get a genuinely heavy breakdown with is lead in by some synths and oh my god there is so much in this song. I adore it.
I want to point out something that has been rare in this band's albums, and that is an individual instrument or element being the highlight. They've been a very homogeneous band so far, but with this being their most conventional album so far, it makes sense.
The drums and bass here are doing all the heavy lifting here. The bass, while more subdued, really lays down a very groovy foundation which somehow fits under all of the screams and horror this band always produces. But the drums... man I am sorry I have neglected them before, cause they are on full blast here. They accentuate the weird rhythms perfectly, and sometimes they just decide to completely insane while the entire band is doing something different.
This brings me to the last song I want to highlight. The Necklace. This one just straight up should not work. It's essentially one of those droning horror songs that were in Every Rock, but it's put over a super long drum solo. Apparently this is what those songs were missing because this one is oddly relaxing. Like I actually enjoyed it. It almost feels like it has some black metal influence. I don't get how they do it.
I was wondering if Choirs Of The Eye would be the only album that really clicked with me from them. But I'm feeling much more hopeful with this one. It's is a stellar combination of their avant-garde sound and more traditional metal tropes.
Ranking
1 - Void In Virgo (The Nature Of Science)
2 - Spectrum Of One Color
3 - The Necklace
4 - Brethren Of The Cross
5 -The Knight Errant
6 - Get Out Of The Tower
7 - Epipsychidion
Score
7.5/10
Kayo Dot reviews