All of a sudden, the heaviness drops away, to be replaced by the shoegaze melodies from the intro topped off by the rich and vibrant clean vocals of Chelsea Murphy, which have a strangely pop-like feel to them.
The guitars are quickly joined by some vibrant bass work by David Scanlon (Deliria, Melek Taus) and a cheeky drum beat courtesy of Ron Bertrand (Sentient Ignition, Botanist), only to be replaced by a monstrous chugging riff in the vein of a slower Amon Amarth track than destroys everything in its path, particularly my neck muscles. More beautiful, clean picked guitar notes and strummed chords ushers in ‘Pinnacle Induced Vertigo’. The song then ends as it began, with the surprisingly soothing sound of falling rain and the hoot of an owl. Initially, you can barely hear the wood for the trees but the mists soon clear to reveal a sophisticated and surprisingly melodic undertone to the extreme metal around it. A lead guitar line from founder/guitarist Tony Thomas (Sentient Ignition, Botanist) dominates before the song explodes in a flurry of breakneck drumming, deep caustic growls and fast, sharp black metal riffing. Whispered female vocals increase the shoegaze feel, albeit with a sinister edge as you sense the tension rising. The album begins with ‘Revivified Spirits’ and the atmospheric sound of pouring rain, accented by simple clean guitar notes, subtle percussion and a gentle increase in sounds and textures over a two-minute intro. The difference between the first two songs alone is incredible. As it is, I am able to listen frequently without any fatigue and can actually focus on the music and the complexities within. Had it been longer, it may have presented too daunting a prospect for many. In many ways, the fact that this album is only around the 42-minute length and spread across just eight songs, is a big strength. And crucially, there are proper songs to be heard too, ones that bring me back for repeated listens. From shoegaze, to ambient, to death metal and black metal, this is an album that sounds like no other sure there are reference points throughout, from Alcest to Wolves In The Throne Room, but ultimately, ‘The Art Of Morphology’ sounds positively fresh and intriguing. There is a lot more going on within the music to cease the definition there. However, to label them as such would be to massively oversimplify things. And the result is incredibly interesting to say the very least.Īt its most basic, Dawn Of Ouroboros could be referred to as a progressive black metal band. Instead, they have gone in a completely new direction, studied a number of styles of music and created their own interpretation of what extreme metal can sound like. Had they been slaves to convention, they’d be a thrash band, or similar because that’s the more prevalent Bay Area model. These guys have taken the extreme metal rulebook and thrown it away to a certain extent. It is an apt title because this American band that only came into being a couple of years ago is, to my mind, exactly this: a study of the form of music, turning it into their own artistic vision.
According to the dictionary, ‘morphology’ means ‘the study of the form of things’. Let’s start with the album title, ‘The Art Of Morphology’. Enter Dawn Of Ouroboros and their debut release, ‘The Art Of Morphology’. I revel in the challenge, especially when it is an album that I genuinely like and therefore want to give my all to the review. I love it when an album makes me scratch my head and wonder how on earth I am going to review it.
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