Toronto death metal sadists Tomb Mold buried the competition with their 2019 full-length Planetary Clairvoyance, which, amid the smothering chaos, contained a curious ambient track titled "Phosphorene Ultimate." Its droning tones and disembodied whispers sounded more like a moody intro than a standalone song. Guitarist Derrick Vella captures this aura for maximum use in his new side project, Dream Unending, alongside Innumerable Forms vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Justin DeTore.
Vella and DeTore play in such perfect lockstep with each other that one would never know that their debut album, Tide Turns Eternal, was recorded in different countries: Vella in Toronto, DeTore in Boston. Such is the modus operandi for these seasoned metal musicians, who waste no time getting knee-deep in the doom with moody album opener "Entrance." Aside from this track, and the brief instrumental "Forgotten Farewell," the remaining songs clock in at eight minutes long. The first slab, "Adorned in Lies," resembles classic Mindrot in slo-mo, with fluid chord progressions and Vella's melodic soloing.
"In Cipher I Weep" is awash with church organs, anguished transitions, and Thergothon-esque creeping doom, while the glistening chords of "The Needful" resemble an Animals-era Pink Floyd scoring a particularly tristful film soundtrack. Like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, the band named a song after themselves: the eleven-minute "Dream Unending" drags out crippling doom with increasing tempos before taking an immense draught of Tiamat's Wildhoney infused with echoing voice samples, and DeTore's deeply resonating gurgles create a layer of forlorn atmosphere throughout.
To cap the proceedings, the near-ten-minute title track navigates through gossamer, late-career Anathema chords before heaving the death/doom hammer down for six minutes; lithe female vocals rise from the mist, drawing influences from Novembers Doom and My Dying Bride. Co-produced and mixed by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Crypt Sermon, Cavalera Conspiracy), Tide Turns Eternal is funeral doom for Pallbearer fans, but more cerebral for Mortiferum acolytes.
(20 Buck Spin)Vella and DeTore play in such perfect lockstep with each other that one would never know that their debut album, Tide Turns Eternal, was recorded in different countries: Vella in Toronto, DeTore in Boston. Such is the modus operandi for these seasoned metal musicians, who waste no time getting knee-deep in the doom with moody album opener "Entrance." Aside from this track, and the brief instrumental "Forgotten Farewell," the remaining songs clock in at eight minutes long. The first slab, "Adorned in Lies," resembles classic Mindrot in slo-mo, with fluid chord progressions and Vella's melodic soloing.
"In Cipher I Weep" is awash with church organs, anguished transitions, and Thergothon-esque creeping doom, while the glistening chords of "The Needful" resemble an Animals-era Pink Floyd scoring a particularly tristful film soundtrack. Like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, the band named a song after themselves: the eleven-minute "Dream Unending" drags out crippling doom with increasing tempos before taking an immense draught of Tiamat's Wildhoney infused with echoing voice samples, and DeTore's deeply resonating gurgles create a layer of forlorn atmosphere throughout.
To cap the proceedings, the near-ten-minute title track navigates through gossamer, late-career Anathema chords before heaving the death/doom hammer down for six minutes; lithe female vocals rise from the mist, drawing influences from Novembers Doom and My Dying Bride. Co-produced and mixed by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Crypt Sermon, Cavalera Conspiracy), Tide Turns Eternal is funeral doom for Pallbearer fans, but more cerebral for Mortiferum acolytes.
