Events
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February 9, 2009 is a date I won’t soon forget because it’s the day my ears first met this album… and you might say it was love at first sound. I can say with certainty this is my favorite album that I’ve discovered or been introduced to since Indukti’s S.U.S.A.R. - an affirmation which shouldn’t be taken lightly considering: 1) I really, really like S.U.S.A.R., and 2) that was six months and many albums ago.
Most of the progressive metal bands I’ve encountered can fit into one of two categories. First there’s the Dream Theater-esque groups. Some of them are quality bands, but I just can’t handle the melodramatic lyrics and opera-like (as Dan calls them) style of vocals. I also find many of them to be interchangeable and thus somewhat boring (although to be fair I haven’t given most of them a thorough listen). The second category consists of those groups who like their music loud and fast, and apparently have an unhealthy obsession with extremely technical guitar riffs and rapidly changing time signatures, tempos, and styles. Again, most of these bands are quite talented but I find the majority of them to be deficient when it comes to producing mature and interesting compositions (as opposed to a patch-work of musical phrases). They also have a tendency to feature very harsh vocals. With all that in mind, any original band that doesn’t fit neatly into one of those two categories is likely to peak my interest. Dark Suns is most definitely one such example.
I’ve decided a sufficient way to explain the style and sound of Existence (2005) is some combination of Riverside, Dead Soul Tribe, and Opeth’s mellow stuff with a perfectly balanced blend of rock and metal, and an emphasis placed on mood. At times I think they even approach the Demians stratosphere of composition maturity. I apologize for doing so much name-dropping because I don’t mean to give the impression that this album is something you’ve heard before; it has a very unique sound in its own right.
Each instrument has a pretty well defined role. Guitars and drums are in the foreground for most of the album and they do a good job of maintaining the forward momentum. At times the keyboard offers a transitional melody or counter melody, but much of the time it plays the extremely important role of setting the mood via background notes and chords. I really couldn’t even imagine the album without this base layer; it certainly wouldn’t be nearly as effective. Bass has the standard job of adding depth and occasionally supplying a counter melody, but it’s executed very well. To round it out, the singer has a great voice. It’s deep and versatile, and at different times is reminiscent of Serj Tankian, Brandon Boyd, and Mariusz Duda.
After an intro that’s foreboding and a little creepy, Existence moves on with several tracks that are dominated by guitar riffs, some in a standard metal style and others in more of a post-metal style. Then the fifth song switches it up by going acoustic and mellow. Finally, track 7 propels this effort from the neighborhood of ‘very good’ to the realm of ‘amazing’, and it remains among the cosmos for the remainder of the 77+ minute album. I really hope I am doing a proper job of conveying my enthusiasm for this album; I just don’t see you being disappointed with it if you like the aforementioned bands. Dark Suns’ more recent album, Grave Human Genuine (2008), is a little heavier, darker, and creepier, and is also a solid album that I recommend. Their debut album, Swanlike (2003), is decent but simpler and more similar to early Anathema and early Opeth than the styles I mentioned above. This album, Existence, is truly a rare gem in my opinion though.
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