Review Summary: One half back from the funereal/ death/ doom crypt.
Let’s get this overarching fact out of the way that will most definitely ring loud throughout every single review of this album: Inverloch are comprised of 2/4 of the original diSEMBOWELMENT line-up, producing only one single “unfuckwithable” L.P. called
Transcendence into the Peripheral and is considered a cornerstone album in the death/doom realm. Now that the ‘compulsory’ back story is out of the way, we can now concentrate on the heart of
Dusk/ Subside with few comparisons. As you might have guessed, Inverloch sound a whole lot like their father band (Opps, I spoiled that one) but this one off child E.P. manages to sum up all the parts of their genetic makeup in less than half the time it took diSEMBOWELMENT to do back in 1993. What also makes this sound so fresh, despite the comparisons is the production which could be attributed to the signing with Relapse Records, having a much bigger budget to work than when diSEMBOWELMENT signed on with Relapse way back in 92.
Beginning the album with nearly a minute of silence, the rumbling melodic guitars creep in at an Esoteric pace. As everything swells into the hyper speed death metal, you begin to realize that the similarities almost stop right there between Inverloch and diSEMBOWELMENT (fuck, I did another comparison). Everything just feels tighter, especially when the doom blows slam the blast beats right down to the floor and pick up again flawlessly with a mini-solo that riffs beautifully over another section of speed and finesse. As you might have guessed, the album is up and down the death/ doom ladder, not at all feeling forced together throughout the run time of each track. In fact, each track on this E.P. flows effortlessly into each other and after a couple of listens, the album feels like one gigantic song. That’s also the appeal of this E.P. and I find myself hitting replay on this monster because the run time feel so much shorter than it actually is. It’s engaging to say the least and each of the three tracks highlight the absolute best parts of why I love death and doom metal to begin with.
Simply put, I can’t get enough of this E.P., far surpassing anything in this genre that has been released within the past ten years. If death/ doom is your thing, you would be a fool to overlook this.
