Year: 2021
Total Time: 67:14
Label: Metal Blade
DVNE was created back in 2013 in Edinburg and “Etemen Ænkais” is their second full length, the first being the excellent “Asheran” (2017).
They surely are a band of great contrasts, weaving titanic heaviness and intricate gentleness together, complex lyrical ideas with engaging storylines, and since their first album all these elements have only been expanded upon and concentrated on “Etemen Ænka”.
“It’s an album that has a narrative musically and we hope will encourage the listener to explore the universe we’ve created around it,” states guitarist/vocalist Victor Vicart.
The storyline evolves in a sci-fi universe inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune but at the same time expands further with utmost originality.
While “Asheran” reminded me partly of a somehow more sophisticated MASTODON, “Etemen Ænka” is full of influences that surpass a single band or genre. The heavy use of synths embellishes the band’s sound and opens a wide palette of sonic possibilities. There are extremely heavy parts and at the same time mellow clean almost prog rock counterparts, coexisting in an album that can only be characterized as a modern progressive masterpiece.
Listening to the album’s second track “Towers”, I imagined PARADISE LOST taking “Icon” into a more progressive dimension and while the presence of the Shadowkings fills the album in general, it never dominates stylistically.
The third track, “Court Of The Matriarch” is the albums first multidimensional specimen with a very wide dynamic range. I would describe it as an OPETH-like masterpiece with a scent of Green Carnation in it, but again, I’d not be giving justice to the original ideas that the band put inside.
After this first prog-shock follows “The Weighing Of The Heart”. An eerie instrumental that reminds us the ancient Egyptian story bearing the same title. After death, during the journey to the afterlife in order to reach the eternal paradise of the Field of Reeds, one had to pass through the trial by Osiris, Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, in the Hall of Truth (also known as The Hall of Two Truths), and this trial involved the weighing of one’s heart against the feather of truth. “Omega Severer” expands and evolves thematically as the musical and lyrical embodiment of the story.
“Adraeden” is another instrumental theme functioning as a prologue to “Si-XIV’ that follows. Brilliant ideas again, excellent musicianship, very well-placed clean vocals that balance well with the growling ones in a dialogue-like lyrical structure.
“Mieccha” is the
eight track and this time the melodic atmospheric ANATHEMA-like element is what
kickstarts the song. But don’t be fooled, half way through the track things get
heavier and we’re back to that MASTODON feel that I was talking about earlier.
But it’s just a touch, an impression that comes and goes as the well-structured
song doesn’t let you believe that it’s another band’s rip off.
“Asphodel” and “Satuya” is a melodic entity of rare beauty, sentiment and
passion. Masterfully structured and performed as a two-part unity.
One must give credit to a masterpiece when he sees one. DVNE’s “Etemen Ænkais” is almost “uncomfortably” beautiful and unique from its artwork to its lyrics and music, I’d say an absolute must have as a physical copy.
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Yiannis Tziallas
Related Link: DVNE – Bandcamp Page
