 Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum [Seasons Of Mist - 2004]It’s been five long years since Esoteric released their last album Metamorphogenesis. In that time many acts have come and tried to dethrone them from the top of the Funeral doom pile, Void of silence, Shape of despair, Evoken. But none have been able to match the vast, epic apocalypse of sound that Esoteric are capable of producing. This their fifth album, the first to get a full international release, through Seasons of mist is a return of sorts to the more introspective and bleak atmospheres of their classic third album Pernicious Enigma. The sound is full, clear and awesomely powerful, but as opposed to the vast landscapes of Metamorphogenesis, this album has a far more internalised rage. Opener Morphia begins with the slow dark dredge of leaden riffs and reverbed angular picking. Repetitive grooves thrust in slow motion against Greg Chandlers vocals and the ever present effects. The bizarre sound effects and processing which have become something of an esoteric trademark are here in a wonderfully muted presence. Creating an uncomfortable backdrop of distant grindings and feedback distortions which lend the music a Neurosis type feel. As with all Esoterics releases the band create an almost impenetrable wall of sound that fills the whole frequency range leaving nowhere to hide. The physicality of their sound on CD is a testament to their power and is tenfold in the live setting I can testify to that. The second of the three main tracks is titled The blood of the eyes. It’s quite a surprise as it begins with a wonderfully trippy almost prog-like guitar-synth intro that slams into a brilliantly epic grind, as the bass and vocals kick in. Reminiscent of some of the epic crescendos found on Metamorphogenesis it has an almost uplifting effect. It can’t go on forever though and after the magic first four minutes the track returns to the depths of doom and darkness. Riffs that turn the air as thick as treacle and vocals that sound like they came from the abyss itself. The last of the three main tracks lurches into life with a driving riff and rhythm section. On first listen many Esoteric songs just sound like walls of noise, but the trained ear can pick out complex melodies and hooks that are as psychedelic as anything you will here from a doom band. Esoteric make no secret of their use of drug induced states to inspire them musically. Though this is certainly not stoner rock. Esoterics inspiration taps into a much blacker and obscure vein than simple drug worship. The lyrics (best read from the sleeve as the vocals are a tad difficult to understand) detail abstract and disturbing tails of confusion, mysterious fears, and hopelessness.
The final track Arcane Dissolution is a bleak industrial noise piece, which maintains the feel of the rest of the album with visions of wide open spaces and broken cities. Chandlers vocals are twisted into distant screams on the wind, torn apart by the throbbing and slicing of the synths. It’s an unexpected and fine closing chapter to a severely bleak and powerful metal album.    Duncan Simpson
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