Eleven years have passed after American Dimentianon from Long Island has again appeared on the metal scene, and finally in the summer of 2021 they have presented through Paragon Records their fourth full-length album Dreaming Yuggoth with reference to the works of H. P. Lovecraft.
They started to play loud and raw black metal under the name The Forgotten in the mid-1990s, but in the beginning of the 21st century they not only changed the name, but also the style. So now they prefer to be closer to doom/death metal scene, although black metal roots are still quite audible and also significant for their music. They prefer to play traditional styles of metal, without experimental approaches, and they aren’t afraid of mixing them in a confident manner. So, despite this addiction to all traditional and classical, their music is not all about the stylistic pureness or static rigidity.
It’s strange how the first typical death/black/thrash track “Undying Bliss” is followed by traditional doom/death “Dwelling into Madness” with almost funeral atmosphere. And the entire album is split into these extreme divisions – aggressive and speedy death/thrash/black pieces vs. classic slow doom compositions with the atmospheric keyboards (almost influenced by gothic/doom). The matter of the synths is also of a great importance here, they soften the brutality and provide with unexpected bunch of emotions – romantic, thoughtful, dreamy and of course, melancholic. They are situated in the background, but still with too garish rights to be muted to a neutral position. Acoustic elements also add some pensiveness (“Dreaming Yuggoth”); and psychedelic vibes destroy drab metal foundation (“Her Discordant Majesty”).
The main problem goes with too raw and extremely dirty sound; it makes all the unorthodox moves a little bit blurry, messing also with the complex perception of the album, marring even the most expressive moments. And the voice of their singer Mike Zanchelli (also owner of Paragon Records) also has some problems with expression of strong feelings, and it also lacks melodiousness. But during the doomiest songs his manner of singing fits into this moody music perfectly well.
This album was recorded with a new line-up and it really is different from their previous opuses, the influence of the new blood is so evident (by the way, two of the musicians are also members of truly iconic bands Evoken and Rigor Sardonicous). Artwork is a good example of their love for mixing the styles, where you can contemplate the dark and cheerless black and white landscape, so eligible for atmospheric black, and at the same time the magic creatures associated with pagan and antique cultures. So, everything is about right balance and focusing priorities, and Dimentianon feels confident in those matters, no doubt about it.
Release date: July 13th, 2021
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