Review Summary: Although Emergence doesn't reach the heights of its predecessors, the record still provides a thoroughly enjoyable and sui generis progressive-metal experience.
Denver’s Dreadnought are an act which can assuredly be described as unique. Unlike other progressive-metal projects which can merely be designated as ‘progressive’ to the extent that their sound is characterised by noticeable transdisciplinary elements, whilst also achieving an impressive level of musical and conceptual complexity, Dreadnought’s sound, while evidently containing all of these aforementioned elements, can also be confidently imputed with labels such as avant-garde or experimental. For they have indisputably carved out a niche within the progressive-metal landscape, something directly attributable to their particular instrumental and vocal templates as well as their specific array of influences.
These characteristics can already be partially derived from the band's line-up: almost every single member of this group is responsible for operating at least two different instruments. The bands pair of female vocalists Kelly Shilling and Lauren Vieira also contribute on guitar as well as flute and keys, respectively. Moreover, drummer Jordan Clancy brings his altor and tenor saxophones to the fold and bassist Kevin Handolin periodically assumes mandolin duties. This idiosyncratic aggregation of instruments accords Dreadnought the ability to compose some mesmerizingly diverse and textured instrumental passages, providing their music with an aesthetic variety as well as unpredictability which can be matched by few. The album’s highlight “Pestilent” features a beautifully canorous instrumental duet between flute and saxophone, while the opening track features a rhythmically intricate, pummelling double-bass groove accompanied by an equally intricate arrangement of sprawling piano chords. These are but a few examples from within a sea of interesting musical tapestries, which are scattered throughout the record's soundscapes.
This instrumental variety speaks to Dreadnought’s myriad of influences, from jazz, chamber music and progressive rock to folk, doom metal and atmospheric black metal. Perhaps one could even add to that instrumental concoction a hint of post-rock or shoegaze. Nevertheless, these genre-bending aspects of Dreadnought’s aesthetic are reflected in the architecture of
Emergence’s compositional structures: three of the five tracks span across impressive 10+ minute runtimes and are layered as well as sequenced in a quite unforeseeable manner. Songs adopt a seemingly fluid progression, allowing Dreadnought’s wonderfully intricate instrumental arrangements to roam free across various peaks and valleys, constantly shifting and turning, ultimately reaching devastatingly harrowing highs and profoundly serene lows: the album’s closing track initiates its crescendo-esque moment by enacting a precipitous transition from a folksy section dominated by clean singing, soft, melodic guitars and soothing piano chords to discombobulating blast-beats and tremolo-picked guitar lines which are soon accompanied by tormented wails and piercing shrieks.
Sudden compositional transmogrifications, such as the one outlined above, are in many ways representative for the entire record. As are syncopated, off-kilter drum rhythms, strange, jazz-esque vocal harmonies and the guitar arpeggiation so often implemented in black-metal. All of this makes
Emergence an indubitably incalculable experience which keeps the listener at the edge of their seat, waiting in constant trepidation of the next unexpected instrumental turn. The softly articulated vocal melodies at the start of
Pestilence incur a sensation of slowly drifting away into a reassuring and tranquil state, before the music’s tone precipitously switches, the guitar and bass gain distortion, the drums start pummelling away and the soothing vocalizations turn into agonizing shrieks and wails. Yet there is always something deeply saddening and eminently portentous about this record’s temperament and tone. Almost never it seems, does the music paint the listener a picture which elicits a sense of happiness. Instead the music is, even during the moments when the metallic influences remain absent, instrumentally, vocally and lyrically melancholic, with its abundance of minor-oriented chord-progressions, fleeting and often somewhat subdued vocal colourings and lyrics seemingly portraying a narrative typified by the inevitability of loss, decay and deterioration:
“
Borrowed canvas, fruitless contributions stunting evolution
Do I have the right to mourn for the
Death of what was never mine?”
Yet Dreadnought is willing to admit there might be light at the end of the tunnel, an end that is simultaneously a stepping stone for a new beginning. An end that is also reached quite swiftly, within the context of the record itself, as the astonishing variety and diversity to
Emergence’s compositions causes the record to flow by with remarkable pace; never is there a dull moment to be found. It is an end which warrants a description as intentionally vague, as it is eloquently formulated. Luckily Dreadnought is here to oblige and presents us with following piece of libretto:
“
Though roaring waves would prove fatal
Their crests and crashes inspire
To satisfy the object of my journey
In spite of the danger at hand
I glimpse ivory shores
A new chapter begins”
Praise aside, this album is not without its faults. I will to a certain extent agree with a criticism I have often seen levied at Dreadnought’s music, which relates to the vocal performances. Although I feel as if the vocal-related performances on
Emergence are the strongest they’ve ever been within the context of Dreadnougth’s discography, reaching higher notes with more easy and finesse, they can sound somewhat cold, fading or fugacious at times. Meanwhile, the harsh shrieks and wails are certainly an acquired taste, and may not contain the potency or definitive sharpness one might desire. Still, they by no means sour the record entirely, certainly because the two vocal styles are always appropriately implemented and juxtaposed, adequately befitting the instrumentation and adding another interesting musical as well as emotional dimension to
Emergence’s musical palette. Besides, the record mostly emphasizes its instrumental elements, which both set the album’s tone and guide the listener through the album’s compositional peaks and valleys.
Unfortunately, production-wise the record does leave something to be desired. Although the drums sound wonderfully crisp, punchy and powerful, the supremacy they are granted in the mix causes the other instruments, especially the bass and the guitars to be pushed from the musical stage, being reduced to something close to mere background murmur at times. This isn’t necessarily helped by the guitar tone which is still a tad bit tepid, bereft of the proper amount of distortion to truly assert its presence. In contrast to earlier Dreadnought records the production on this release feels relatively muddled and too unpolished, lacking both in sharpness and weight. It doesn’t endow the record with the same feeling of gargantuan vastness and atmosphere as it did on earlier works such as
A Wake In Sacred Waves or
Bridging Realms, which were, hence, more instrumentally and emotionally rewarding, whilst also providing a more immersive experience.
Luckily these negative factors do not take away from the album’s obvious qualities, for
Emergence provides us with another fascinating progressive-metal journey littered with a seemingly endless array of interesting instrumental juxtapositions, transitions and layering apace with enervating compositional shifts, properly placed vocalizations and a powerful melancholic tone which seeps through every single arrangement. Whatever direction Dreadnought push their sound into next, one thing is certain, it will be anything but boring. For Dreadnought’s steadfast progression into uncharted sonic realms, continually pushing musical boundaries, defying expectations and quashing compositional conventions, is yet to reach its apotheosis.
