Dreamweaver

Although I can't say for sure whether the band has ever really broken up, Dreamweaver was their third and most recent offering, now almost two decades old, and while it certainly shares some fundamental influences with its predecessors, the first time I spun this one I almost thought I was listening to a different band. It's got a similar sense of melodic acumen, but it's as if somewhere along the way, Golem started listening to a lot more brutal death metal in the early 00s, which translates into a more propulsive, ear-rupturing experience, and coincidentally takes them even further away from that Carcass comparison which dominated much of the debut and some of the sophomore. Dreamweaver is tense, clinical German death metal, and like the rest of their catalog, underrated.

The riffs here really churn along with syncopated, punchy rhythms, full of weighty melodies that aren't so obvious as their earlier writing. The new drummer obliterates the performance on those old albums, blasting effortless when necessary, and they basically possess all the weaponry of your standard issue brutal/tech death metal band, though where so many of those struggle to find a soul for their music, Golem is just left of center incorporating enough progressive and melodic components to keep you coming back. No, it's not Cynic or Atheist, but if you're into groups like Lykathea Aflame that can balance off that exoticism and atmosphere with the brutality, then this is certainly an album you will want to track down. It might even be a little forward thinking when you imagine bands like Fallujah or Rivers of Nihil were still coming down the road about a half-decade after this came out.

The vocals still consist of guttural and snarls, but they only superficially resemble their original influence, and feel more like a blunt object being dispensed over your head alongside those choppy rhythms. Leads are good, often emitting jazz/fusion or bluesy vibes, but even more interesting are the points where they'll just throw out these simpler, atmospheric guitars over the more complex battery ("Breeder"). The bass playing here is the best of the three albums, grooving and compelling on its own without always copying the guitars at a 1:1, and like the title demonstrates, this is perhaps the easiest of their albums to get lost in. I enjoy this one nearly as much as The 2nd Moon, and if they had kept putting out material along this path and evolving it further, they'd be one of our hugest death metal acts of this sort today. I guess there's still a chance!

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Great monoliths swirl ambiguously, far above in the darkened skies. A low murmur echoes in a vast area pitted with towers that hide the ground from the bringer of light. From above, the way the bird flies, the tiny creatures that swarm amongst this abode take the significance of ants fleeing in an unpredictable manner from one spot to the next. Whilst such meaningless commotion grinds on within this giant machine, a soul wanders all alone, confused and looking for a sign that anything is real within this artificial world of grey, hoping one day to understand…

Germany’s Golem, with their 2004 opus ‘Dreamweaver’ have created a perplexing atmosphere that is doused in the artificiality of a machine-like world, yet a place where it is possible that dreams can pervade and weave majestically throughout this desolate landscape, only seen by those with a keen eye for Beauty. On this level, the basis of the album isn’t too far estranged from Blut Aus Nord’s “The Work Which Transforms God”, but as we will see Golem implement an approach that differs from that of the said band’s twisted dissonance.

Most likely the first realisation that will be made by the listener is towards the production - it is dry, lifeless and for the most part invariant. It is reminiscent of something that a Metalcore band might employ, but by some bizarre act of irony it seems to work quite well in this context. Like a miracle it conjures images steeped in a greyish tinge. When mixed with the angular, staccato riffs which are taken straight out of the book of Carcass circa ‘Necroticism’ they are made to sound rigid in their flow, as if bound to a corresponding entity. The band drive the flat, detuned, toneless palm-muted rhythm sound right into the ground. The eminent theme of greyness is likely to draw forth images of something metallic. At times the band sound washed out, perhaps this is accentuated by the reverb effect that they attach to some of their phrasing. The rigidity and routine nature of the riffing, when mixed with this facet, resembles a machine as it churns along heartlessly at its programmed labour.

The laborious nature of production doesn’t end there. The drum sound is ridiculously over-produced, so much so that it is tinny and flat. There isn’t a great deal of variation in technique either – expect an occasional blast section, accompanied by the usual Metal double-kick, snare and cymbal idiom elsewhere. Thus, again it sounds like a jumble of machine code whirling inside the chipboard of a robot as it performs some sort of perfunctory task, ad nauseam into infinity.

There was a brief mention of the reverb soaked phrasing above, this is used in correlation with the arpeggios, thus these sound washed out - which resembles the lonely depressed intermissions of the Black Metal variety, in particular those of Manes least bombastic moments. The band uses these for relief, and they fit in cosily with the grey theme, but this also gives the feeling of contemplation and solitude. When juxtaposed against the swirling nature of the Morbid Angel-esque (latter day) blast sections, the aforementioned Carcassisms and drawn out tremolo sections it gives the impression of a soul wandering through a monstrous city, full of alien structures, garnished with lifeless people machine-coded as slaves. It is here that the listener is given a glimpse of the crushing feeling of loneliness and social incongruity.

On the contrary to the more dissonant riffing is the exquisite lead-work. This is particularly reminiscent of its Heavy Metal roots ala those of Michael Amott. Although, at times there is a slight ‘folkish’ tinge of Germanic origin here and there, which takes the style a little further. As mentioned, this is in complete contrast to the surging Death Metal sections, the depression fuelled arpeggios and the occasional traditional Doom inspired motif. Thus, it acquires an almost joyous air through this contrast. The feeling is of a dream weaving unimpeded through a hostile landscape. At the beginning of the album these moments are of a brief duration – the band quickly reverting to a more chaotic style. This emanates images of something lost amongst a rabble of incomprehensible forces. But, these ‘indicators of Beauty’ become more and more frequent as this musical journey proceeds to its climax. It is almost as if it were an analogy that not only can Beauty be found as long as life persists, no matter how much we try to surround our world with artificial trappings, but the more that Beauty is pursued as an esoteric experience the more one can find it in their life – much like the teachings of Diotima in Plato’s ‘Symposium.’

All of this being said, there are some shortcomings to the album, despite it communicating some solid ideas. It may be said that the band does not go nearly far enough with the style and at times when they do it is forced and stale. There are also a few too many bland ‘half’ riffs that make some sections formulaic and predictable. But, there are plenty of ideas that are worthy of further exploration and development. Perhaps a lack of creative spirit was what stopped the band from writing an out and out classic.

Pretty stylish artwork and dramatic ambience are the first impressions of Golem I receive.

A sweet, lone guitar introduces "Al-Ghanor" before out of nowhere a fairly vicious onslaught pounces and ravages, akin to Malevolent Creation, Gorguts, Morbid Angel, with an Immortal-esque vocal delivery. Death Metal but with an odd progressive feel, smoothly put together and with quite a unique sound overall. A fine opening track, and sets the standard well for what turns out to be a very interesting release.

I love the opening twiddlings to highlight "Remote control", and there is some sweet little leads also, rather Carcass inspired, and certainly there are hints in the rhythm guitars too of one of the UK's pioneers. An odd riff begins "Breeder", very minimal and low key, but sounds fantastic. There is altogether an odd vibe going on, certainly something a little mysterious and out of the ordinary, and flashes of brilliance and pure origianality littler themselves throughout.

Some stunning chord progressions in "Rose". Very simple but quite chilling. There are occasional Hate Eternal, Zyklon and Cadaver reminiscent touches in the blend as overall Golem have a relentless aura, not necessarily in the place but certainly in the mood. "Tomb" definitely has some more Carcass worship going on, great discordance grooves feature during "Facs", top notch key sounds are the driving force of the more sombre "The Tower" and "Dreamweaver" is a brilliant atmospheric piece. "Le Sacre du Printemps" is a strange, epic masterpiece, packed full of oddness and is the most progressive piece on this album, harking to a heavy and more twisted King Crimson. A pure mind batterer with its strange reverbs, riffs and hypnosis in the effects. Very self-indulgent as most of the best prog rock is, but we don't care, it sounds incredible.

An illuminatingly brilliant album.

This awkward blast-death fest shows promise but falls short of delivering anything truly amazing. It's obvious that their production team is on top of things, that the band can play their instruments and that they have some form of concept worked out...but it's simply not enough. Golem as a concept could grow into a wonderfully entertaining antonal-blast-death band with ambient influence if only they could focus the wide array of sounds blasting into a solid vision that put more emphasis on their psychotically arranged guitar work than their CD-skip soundalike drumming.

One can do little to tell one song from the other without a concerted effort on this. Sure, the riffs and time changes sometimes change up but the chaos is misdirected and leaves the listening feeling as if he's heard the entire thing before in the previous song or two. These guys have the goods, they just need to find a muse other than pointless chaos. I offer encouragement, but not without a slight sense of frustration at the rather distant and disinterested emotions brought forth on this release.

Well...all I can say is "better luck next time". To those people who like disorganized chaos I say go for this - as the guitarwork and strange time-signatures do have their value for some. This isn't really something I'd listen to again as the drumming alone put me off...but I WILL listen to the next record hoping they've grown into something better.

I say pass it unless you're THAT curious...