Seasons of Mist

Back in 2016 I was introduced to a project by a multi-instrumentalist under the moniker of Sylvaine from Norway. I came across her newest album “Wistful” back then and I was just blown away about how dreamy, ethereal, and raw the music was. It was my first ever review for my blog and one of the catalysts to what made me want to start blogging about the underground music industry to begin with. Since that time in May of 2016 (the same month “Wistful” came out) I have been keeping up with my blog as best I could, and it has turned out to be such a beautiful and satisfying success in my professional/personal life. Being able to write down my thoughts and feelings about music that moves me is such a gift and I am glad all you readers who have found my work enjoy reading it too. And here we are 2/22/2022 on a Tuesday and I was graciously given Sylvaine’s newest opus “Nova” from Seasons of Mist to review for you all. As a disclaimer I did not get around to reviewing “Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone” back in 2018 because life got in the way at that time. My feelings on that album are just as positive as “Wistful” and it is a beautiful work across the board, and in my opinion an even darker album in many ways. Though, I will have to say that “Nova” has exceeded all my expectations yet again and I would call it maybe an even darker work than “Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone”.

I find it very appropriate that the new album came out and was written during the height of the pandemic. For me it was a very painful, and strenuous time in my own life, and from hearing “Nova” it sounds like it was also a very difficult time in Sylvaine’s life too. There is a raw, vulnerable, and very introspective tone in every single song. I could feel the pain, the longing, and the hope in waves as the album progressed. These past two years have been an age of difficult transitions and thinking about the concepts of mortality every day. The pandemic brought death, divorces, break-ups, layoffs, and every other bad thing about life in-between. Though during this dark time there was an enlightenment that was found in those dank caves each passing day. I would say the sonic journey “Nova” puts the listener through hits all these concepts in big and small ways. There is a real sense of finding self in the first song “Nova” and as the album progresses you are introduced to a multitude of emotions and journeys of the inner psyche of Sylvaine. If I could think of the proper words, it would be memories, anger, melancholia, shock, ends, beginnings, and the dreams/nightmares that come when you go through a painful transition in your life. In the end after all the pain one has been through is a feeling of recovery, healing, and seeing the world (as well as your existence) in a new light as you will hear in the final song “Everything Must Come To An End”.

As for the middle of the album there are so many different and intriguing ideas happening throughout “Nova” there is a lot of heavy songs with straight up black metal coldness abound especially in “Mono No Aware”, “Fortapt”, and “I Close My Eyes So I Can See” but there is that ever-distinct warmth and beauty sprinkled throughout these songs that makes Sylvaine’s work so unique and interesting to hear. I would probably say “Nowhere, Still Somewhere” is the most straightforward goth rock/shoegaze song I have heard in her discography I would say the song is a beautiful combo of Type O Negative meets My Bloody Valentine and I think it shows the growth and maturity of Sylvaine’s songwriting chops. The vocals are stellar, and the screams are some of the coldest and most spine-chilling I have heard in a while. The music itself is tight, epic, meandering and very dreamlike. The standout instrument to me are the drums by Dorian Mansiaux they are very powerful, heavy and reminds me a lot of Aaron Weaver’s drum work in Wolves in the Throne Room. There are quiet introspective moments in the songs that lead to loud heavy and aggressive moments which makes “Nova” very engaging to listen to.

Overall, I will say that “Nova” is a brilliant and beautiful piece of music that needs to be heard repeatedly. It will take you through an internal journey of self. The highs, and lows of life and the memories that come with it will be a common feeling as you listen deeper and deeper to the sonic catharsis of “Nova”. There is an obvious shift in song-writing maturity in the album and it is absolutely required listening if you are having a bad day or been going through traumatic transition in your life. There is genuine sense of relatability and understanding in Sylvaine’s works over the years and I feel her newest album lets these concepts shine a brighter light. The human condition and its follies are very prominent in “Nova”, and I think it gives a greater, and more universal understanding of how to navigate these rough waters to find the lighthouse and land at the end where you can finally rest.

Sylvaine’s new album “Nova” releases on March 4th 2022!

Rating 9/10

Bandcamp: https://sylvainemusic.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sylvainemusic/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sylvainemusic/

Official Page: www.sylvainemusic.com

dismanibvs

I have spent a ton of time trying to find new things to listen to. I love all of the albums I have in some way or another but I just needed to hear something new and unique. I heard about the band Imperium Dekadenz from one of my friend’s and started listening to some songs by them. After hearing their music with much greater attention to detail I was immediately staggered by how good these guys are. Hailing from Germany Imperium Dekadenz arrived through the fogs and mists of the black woods and have created an epic album called “Dis Manibvs” that came out in August of 2016.

The best way I can describe the overall vibe of the album is sorrowful, ancient and triumphant. The songs seemingly blend into one another like a tapestry of stars and planets. The vocals remind me of yearnings for times of old and final breaths of stars dying into the black of space. There is a cosmic, polytheistic and natural energy when every note is played. There is strong feeling of melancholy in the way the instruments harmonize and crescendo. There are multiple things that standout in “Dis Manibvs” one of them standing out above all others is the drumming of Vespasian. They are powerful, emotional and thunderous like the heavens, blast beats sound like oaks growing and expanding in the rain, and the cymbal crashes remind me of bolts of lightning turning the night sky white. There is a real feeling of the gods speaking when you hear some tracks of “Dis Manibvs” and whatever they are saying is being conjured through Imperium Dekadenz.

imperium-band

I can say when I hear this album my mind goes into a different place entirely, all the negativity and pain of life disappears and I feel like I am lost on a battlefield after Ragnarok. I see corpses around me, blood in the grass, mud and destruction everywhere. But I am not looking at the ground but the sky above. I can see stars clear and bright, clouds passing through the moon and treetops. I can see the dull light of dawn on the horizon and the ghosts of the dead wandering aimless among the piles of the dead. I know even after the brutality and violence of the battle that I lived and the gods had plans for me hidden from my view. I could only find the answers by moving forward and leaving the death behind me. My eyes scan to the east as I see the sun rise and notice glimmers of light as the sun shines over the vast raging river cutting through hills and valleys, a place to be cleansed of the blood and filth of the night before. These are the images and feelings “Dis Manibvs” evokes when listened to and it stays with you long after.

The songs that stand out most on this album are “Still I Rise” a triumphant, hopeful song about letting the past rot and being only aware of the present and seeing the future in a gauze of ether. The guitars are incredibly bombastic and immediately invoke these feelings and it just stays with you as a fond memory of the past you do not want to lose. The next song that is incredible is “Dis Manibvs” a slow, doomy black metal track which cascades like waterfalls and a steady warm rain. There is a sense of longing in this song, it is almost depressive in nature but it nonetheless is a song that can help with feelings of guilt and grief. The final song that stands out is “Volcano” it reminds me thoroughly of an old Emperor song it sounds like chaos melded with calm and develops images of a civilization on the brink of collapse through utter natural destruction. There is a sense of closure in this song, after the eruption and screams of thousands there is silence and it permeates through everything and leaves you utterly speechless in where the album will go next.

Captured by Dvergir Photography

When the album ends the feelings, senses and thoughts stay with you like a vivid dream. You see yourself floating aimlessly in the infinite sky and see the god’s beckoning you to paradise. You find yourself at peace after the destructively beautiful sounds and images of “Dis Manibvs” and just want to play it again and again. The story Vespasian and Horaz crafted with such care, diligence and passion is something that will remain in your memory long after listening. An album that allows you to always hear new things and experience new visions is an album worth listening to. Be blown away by the utter perfection of this album and let it stick with you for the rest of your days.

Rating 9/10

Bandcamp: https://imperiumdekadenz.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImperiumDekadenz/

Homepage: http://www.imperium-dekadenz.de/

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The Dreaming Metal Muse

Interviews, reviews, and other ramblings…

Sylvaine “Nova” Review

Imperium Dekadenz “Dis Manibvs”

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