Review Summary: Another quality REZN album with some doomgaze expansions
In a way similar to Monolord’s newest outing, REZN’s sixth album may be the Chicago group’s most aggressive showing so far. Granted there aren’t any death metal vocal cameos but the music seems to elaborate on the more direct tendencies seen on 2024’s Burden. The rhythms hone in on a forward momentum with the drums often maintaining a steady thrust. The vocals also stand out more in the proceedings, sitting more prominently in the mix than before and often driving the songs as much as the riffs.
While this makes it sound like a serious overhaul, Cycles In The Infinite Dream still maintains the established REZN heavy psych-doom aura. The guitars still maintains a heavy presence with the tone having the sort of crunch that’s jagged enough to border industrial territory at the hardest hitting points of “Cloudfall” and “The Vessel” Their trippy effects and spacey keyboards still have their place in the band’s soundscapes and moments like the ripping saxophone solo on “Transient” show that they fit the bashings just fine.
As with previous releases in the band’s consistent track record, they have a strong understanding of these dynamics that makes for exemplary songwriting. The opening “Rites Of Passage” and “Aerial Birth” splendidly hit the doomgaze sweet spot as crushing waves of distortion weave smoothly into subdued lush contemplations. Rounding the album’s softer concentrations, “Devotion” drifts into clean guitar ambiance while “Escher” pulls off a swing into outright alt rock territory complete with a slight twang to those brighter strums.
True to title, Cycles In The Infinite Dream doesn’t surprise by being another quality REZN outing but for how well it pulls off its stylistic expansions. Coming off the more elaborately constructed albums before it could’ve made for a samey experience at a lesser scale, but the forty-minute runtime is well utilized for the adjustments at hand. One can almost imagine the band daring to reach even further into full-on shoegaze or post-hardcore, but their spirit ultimately remains connected to a lofting blend of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath.
