Review Summary: It goes without saying that this is the least grounded Dionaea have ever been.
Out of all the albums that have stuck with you through the years, what would you say are their defining characteristics? Do they tend to be more emotional, or do they lure you in with their insane technical prowess? The truth is that if you've heard of
Dionaea, the latter is more likely. The band pride themselves on being utterly unpredictable, taking the least expected route to the destination at hand. This is perhaps the most polarizing aspect of the group's music, in that it doesn't always make sense, but in order to appreciate the beauty of Grounds, one has to bypass the concept of logical music, and instead embrace the more comprehensive ideology of music that existentially thrives.
Any band that dubs themselves as a "post-grind" band have much to live up to. This is the case with Dionaea, a group only recently emerging as a certifiable force to be reckoned with in their own niche of reckless splendor. Grounds is their debut EP, and it does a more than sufficient job at displaying the wide breadth of genres they have under their belt. Grounds takes drastic turns persistently, despite its rather short running time of just less than eleven minutes. It revels in its own duplicity, reverting from serene post-rock flourishes to mechanistic grind riffs, and while the transitioning is not always as flawless as it could be, it's a problem that tends to be outweighed. Also, the fact that Grounds is the band's first official release dissipates much of my fears, as it's evident that they'll continue along the path they've already started to tread with this release. The energy that Dionaea exerts consistently throughout this release is one that musical nuts like me eagerly pursue, because there's something undeniably alluring about a band that so obviously knows what they're doing, and are actually capable of accomplishing the zany ideas in their minds. With this, of course, comes the problem of restraint, but Dionaea show no signs of being completely unable to limit their more self-indulgent tendencies, and of course, it's still quite the enjoyable experience when they just let loose.
The emphasis is also placed on the music over all else, which leads to the commonplace lack of musical restraint a bit more forgivable. Perhaps the most shining example of this is the fact that lyrics are only very intermittently utilized, simply placed in more subdued parts when the band deems necessary. This leads to a much more distilled end-piece, one that does revel in its own insanity but also gives room to breathe during its calmer moments. Overall, Dionaea have made quite a name for themselves with Grounds, one that has since become much more of a figurehead for the idea that they're trying to create, the ever-colossal genre tag of "post-grind". Maybe we'll never know exactly what the hell that term means, but at least we'll come just a little closer to understanding the phenomenon, thanks to the efforts of Dionaea.
