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Drift Into Black: Dead Suns Under the Forever Moon

When I reviewed Drift Into Black’s EP Shadow People earlier this year, I was taken with the idea that the band was a love child between Anathema, Tiamat, Black Sabbath, and Katatonia. I still like that description, even though I think this band brings to mind several other bands, including Ghost (but without all the theatrics) and even The Cure (but without the earnest pop sensibilities). I need to be careful with my comparisons because Drift into Black isn’t exactly trying to be any one thing. If anything, they are working toward an independently gloomy sound that only shares family resemblances with similar projects.

Drift Into Black is largely the product of one musician, Craig Rossi. On this release, Rossi sings and plays both the guitar and keyboards. He also did all the mixing and mastering. Joining him on this album are Paul LaPlaca (bass), Klemen Markelj (drums), Rick Habeeb (additional guitars), Melissa Hancock (additional vocals) and Elizabeth Weaver (cello). They make a good ensemble. I was especially fond of Melissa Hancock’s voice because she plays off Rossi’s voice really well. His voice, as I’ve hinted, reminds me of Tobias Forge because it sticks to a slightly higher range and delivers the lyrics with a plaintiveness that borders on the incantatory. I’m thinking mostly of “Left in the Ash,” but there are plenty of other examples of what I mean.

Dead Suns Under the Forever Moon is a concept album that works out a revenge theme. But this isn’t a typical revenge story or the musical equivalent of an action film. Instead, it’s a dark and gloomy meditation on the ways revenge can go too far and how death weighs on the heart. Having said that, it’s important to approach this album knowing that it has multiple moods, even if most of them ultimately turn to mortality. I liked the band’s heavy side but preferred the brooding guitar on tracks like “Gone but not Forgotten.” That track also has some of the better singing between Hancock and Rossi. I’d also recommend “Sifting through the Dead,” the bleak concluding track.

Fans of extreme music may prefer something a little more aggressive. Still, I think fans of gothic-inspired sounds will probably find this to their liking.

Track Listing:
1. Death from Above
2. Gone but not Forgotten
3. Hollow
4. Home
5. Left in the Ash
6. No Return to Light
7. Reign
8. Sifting through the Dead

Added: September 22nd 2018
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Bandcamp Page
Hits: 1027
Language: english

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