Collapse the Void

Clocking in at just over twenty seven minutes, I wouldn't put money on more people considering Dimentianon's Collapse the Void being a Full Length album rather than an EP. I definitely view it as an EP and it's a decent one at that, with the Long Island - a location I loathe due to traffic driving to the airport today - gang that put this together showing off melodic skills, rhythmic acumen and creative will. I think the last aspect is their best attribute however. The inclusion of keys and an entire keyboard driven track shows that Dimentianon is more interested in creating than copying others. The release is out on Paragon records which is not a surprise at all, considering that vocalist M is Paragon owner Mike Zanchelli. I like the artwork on the release as well, featuring a looming shadow over what looks to be a planet being broken in half or something. As I'm familiar with the band, I can say that I've always thought their logo was cool also.

Collapse The Void isn't this or that. It's a nice combination of things, at times done effectively and elsewhere bordering on a mashup. At times the songs flow really well but then, at other points transitions don't seem to fit. One example would be about four minutes into "The Forgotten" with a grandiose section being welded with a faster thrashy section which awkwardly turns back into a slower, moody period. The songs wander around like this at times and even though the parts are cool and interesting, I'm not always sure if they fit together, especially on the two longer tracks, "The Forgotten" and "Return...," which could have been better served as three or -more likely - four tracks with more definition and recognition. Even with this drawback, though, the songs hold their own well. Clean sections are scattered across the release which in sound reminds me of a less black Emperor or a more aggressive and blackened Insomnium maybe. Who knows?

Performances are strong. Mike's vocals are well performed typical death / black snarls and they suit the black / death mixture of Dimentianon seamlessly. He's at his best on Collapse's weirdest track, "Breathe Deep," where he still sounds fresh to the ears and a bit deranged, to match the slightly happ-go-lucky taunting melodicism of the track. I would wager that while "Breathe Deep" doesn't have my favorite sections, it's a perfectly written song from the standpoint of memorability goes. I particularly like the two leads in the track which mimic the frivolous back and forth irking of the track's melodies. Engineer, Mixer, Masterer Pete Rutcho is probably to be blamed for the awesome synth break in the album, "Fragmented Nostalgia." The rhythm section of Maureen Murphy and Peter Christopher is one of the highlights on the release. Both offer interesting depth to the release. Christopher's drumming is varied and paired with the perfect sounding drum production featuring a really punchy kick and really crisp cymbal work, fills the percussive space that's often left in other albums. Murphy plays against the guitars often and follows mostly only on the faster sections. Her bass playing is a big part of what keeps everything interesting and moody.

Originally written for Contaminated Tones

On the surface, this EP by this New York-based band might seem to be a black, death, thrash release but it is more, so much more. Blending doom metal and a progressive rock edge with infectious riffs, melodies into the vicious old-school death, black thrash metal band is a tricky equation but Dimentianon have nailed it and produced one of the very best albums in the genre. The band may be unknowns in the metal world but they deserve to be huge with this EP that is dripping with an old-school quality you don't hear much these days especially in mainstream thrash, death, black metal circles. There is no fake drums, little studio trickery and zero reliance on gimmicks to get their point across. Dimentianon do it with a combination of great musicianship, strong melodies and a devastating songwriting prowess that puts most other bands to shame. Listening to a old promo from this band showed me how far this band has come, they have really progressed in so many areas and now have created a gold-medal standard that avoids the usual formula that most bands in the genre seemed to be trapped within. They were brutal before but now they have turned themselves into a unique form of brutality that is full of surprises.

Opening track "Return..." starts off with its roots firmly in old-school Swedish death metal, hacking and slashing with an energetic performance from the band. It is excellent that while this track has an explosive pace at first, they keep the melodies intact and don't try to be fast just for the hellish fun of it, rather they make a musical statement here which is all about quality heavy-metal songwriting, not the "I am more evil than you kind of stuff" that most bands indulge in. "Return...." is over 8 minutes long but it never seems like it, as the band throws you a curve-ball at every turn with unexpected changes in tempo and mood. The band has a real progressive edge that shows itself often and on this track, they even bring bluesy interludes which would seem out-of-place usually but Dimentianon make it sound natural. The main gripping feature is the atmospheric quality which is mesmerizing and this EP doesn't let go in that department for its entire 25 minutes.

Second track "Breathe Deep" brings in more old-school elements sounding like Morbid Angel especially in the guitar solos but it also has a doom-crunch of a sound in the riffs. This song has an approach I can only call symphonic blackened thrash-doom groove as it is an extremely diverse track for what it is. It sounds very short coming after an epic like "Return..." so it can be easily looked over but it is a jewel in the rough and the blending of energetic death-blasts with low churning crunch is impossible to ignore. Then comes one of the most majestic tracks I have heard all year, the atmospheric (kind of) instrumental "Fragmented Nostalgia" that brings in the doom via haunting piano, sullen, chilling female voices, 70's prog-rock elements and it has a creepy kind of beauty that chills you to the bone. Giving that it is out-of-left-field to do something like this on what is a primarily a black, death album shows this band has some balls and some real talent. This track is mesmerizing and one I go back to every time I spin the EP, a perfect mood-changing centerpiece to the EP that is superb on its own but also makes the songs that surround it even stronger.

"The Forgotten" takes the EP back into epic-metal land with a slow, slithering doomy intro section that catapults into a another haunting black-metal monster complete with some melodic guitar work that is incredibly diverse and infectious within the context of the genre. It is similar to the opening "Return..." track and follows the same path in many respects but it isn't a repeat performance. Keeping the dynamics at high, the band never waste a moment and like the opening tune, the 8 minutes goes by very quickly. The EP ends on "All Good Things End" which is really the only track that verges on the generic, it is also the only track that doesn't have an unexpected twist, tempo or mood change but even at their most generic, Dimentianon do something a little different, on this tune they have a change in the guitar sound halfway through that I can't put into words, lets just say it is different but captivating. Being unpredictable in a black, death unit is a little rare these days and sure there is bands out there within the genre that can lay claims to being unique but few sound as cohesive as Dimentianon do on "Collapse The Void." The adventurous contrast the EP offers really sets this apart from any other album within the realms of thrash-metal I have heard all year but the elements of doom metal and atmospheric ambience that is also featured makes this an essential buy. I just wish it was 20 minutes longer, turning it into a full-length album but I guess less is more sometimes. Out now on Paragon Records, this is a must have situation, buy it.