DVNE is back! Yes, the fantasy universe of Frank Herbert may be having its heyday these days, but I’d like to take you to a world of a different caliber. This Scottish quintet is reaching new heights in the progressive, post and sludge landscape. French expatriate and guitarist Victor Vicart founded DVNE with drummer Dudley Tait in 2013. The band is now ready for their third full-length album, and their second on Metalblade Records. Voidkind brings the familiar epicness of its predecessor Etemen Aenka, but this time with a different production style. The production focuses more on bringing the band’s live sound to the record, rather than adding extra layers that would need to be replicated live with backing tracks. The band sounds more raw, more direct, and dirtier. Pure, unadulterated spice on Voidkind by DVNE.
As for the music, opener Summa Blasphemia brings the aggression and progression of the first two Mastodon records, with a confusing rhythm right in the first riff. Live sound or not, the band sounds grand to the extreme, but what do you expect from, in my opinion, the most interesting post-metal act in the world in 2024. The nearly nine-minute-long Eleanora swirls more and makes room for clean vocals and progressive and busy riffs. Of course, DVNE wouldn’t be DVNE without some guitar noodling reminiscent of earlier Baroness work. The clean vocals are a bit more fragile and shriller than I’m used to from DVNE, but that adds to the urgency of the matter. In the multi-voiced tail of Eleanora, this comes across even more convincingly.
After these two giants, the band even takes a step further. Reaching for Telos is the perfect single for this band, but so far it hasn’t been in the spotlight. Midway through the track, there’s a Tool-like buildup where the guitars take the forefront with echo and an exciting rhythm. It becomes a progressive piece that blows my mind. This secretly is my favorite moment of the album. This highlight is closely followed by the crushing vocals on Reliquary. It’s as if Scott Kelly (Neurosis) is a guest and we’re listening to Mastodon at their peak. Masterful. The outro of Sarmatae doesn’t fall short either. This is sludge of its dirtiest kind, interspersed with progressive bass lines and a rhythm that makes you count everything for a moment.
DVNE serves up highlights one after the other on Voidkind. Something that was no different on Etemen Aenka. The biggest differences here are that the highlights follow each other more directly and that the songs often don’t need long intros to get to their point. A pitfall that many post-metal acts fall into. DVNE scores, just like the movies, twice in a row and manages to surpass the first with this second episode. If it wasn’t clear yet, DVNE is in the highest echelon of quality metal. Boundary-crossing, adventurous, raw. It won’t be long before DVNE will also be at the top of the bills in the post- and progressive landscape. Second single Abode For The Perfect Soul is the perfect closer to emphasize this point even further. Every damn metalhead should give this album a spin. The class of DVNE simply deserves it.
Score:
92/100
Label:
Metalblade Records, 2024
Tracklisting:
- Summa Blasphemia
- Eleonora
- Reaching for Telos
- Reliquary
- Path of Dust
- Sarmatae
- Path of Ether
- Abode of the Perfect Soul
- Pleroma
- Cobalt Sun Necropolis
Line-up:
- Victor Vicart – Vocals, guitar
- Daniel Barter – Vocals, guitar
- Greg Armstrong – Bass
- Dudley Tait – Drums
- Maxime Keller – Keyboards
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