Dvne - Omega Severer

Three years beyond the acclaimed Asheran comes this new EP from Scottish progressive/post-sludgers Dvne. Asheran is little short of a masterpiece - how on earth could the band, now expanded to a quintet with the addition of keyboardist Evelyn May, build upon this? With the Omega Severer EP, their answer seems to be more progressive, expressive and bloody impressive as they hint at new music to come and nod to the past. The ten-minute titular track indicates the direction that their upcoming 2021 album will take, and 'Of Blade and Carapace' is a re-recording of a song from their Aurora Majesty EP. Let's dive in... 


'Omega Severer' opens with soft ambience and a moody chord sequence before going into heavier territory, with Dvne's tasteful sense of light and dark becoming apparent early on in this song, as strong as has been demonstrated on their previous work. The sludgy riffing is reminiscent of Mastodon or Baroness in their earliest days, although the song weaves in and out of different sections, textures and movements to avoid staying heavy for (too) long. With a dizzying range of time signatures and dynamics, the emphasis is undoubtedly upon 'progressive' rather than 'metal' - no bad thing when Dvne's ambition yields such a fantastic result. With plenty of melody and excellent bass work rumbling away beneath the other instruments, this is an exciting look ahead. 


'Of Blade and Carapace' is pretty similar to its early incarnation, although the arrangement is a lot smoother with regard to its progressive structure, compared to the original (and it's a couple of keys higher this time). It's more aggressive than 'Omega Severer' - kicking off with a moshpit-friendly, hardcore-infused sludge attack - but all of Dvne's progressive tendencies and ears for melody are still present. It works well dynamically on the EP, as a heavier contrast to the title track, but still showing off Dvne in all their proggy glory. Conceptually as well, as the A-side glances forward, the EP feels 'complete' as its B-side looks back. 


The biggest impression I took from this was the vast improvement of the vocals. The clean vocals in 'Omega' sound considerably stronger than in Asheran, where the sung moments often could feel a little weak and in need of more power - probably the only criticism I could offer of the 2017 full-length. Here, they sound much better and fuller than ever before and it's good to see Dvne work on this aspect of their sound, especially as vocals inevitably lie at the forefront of the mix. Even the harsher, growled vocals have come a long way - particularly noticeable in 'Carapace'. In 2020, they sound a league or two apart from the version of the song from 2015. There's even some insane operatic wailing over the melodic guitar solo in 'Omega' - think Dark Side of the Moon! 


Well worth your time for fans of anything slightly spacey, proggy or doomy, with marked signs of improvement on the vocal front and the exceptional level of musicianship maintained from before. For fans of Boss Keloid, Baroness, Conjurer, Mastodon etc. If you like this then listen to Asheran immediately - roll on 2021 for the follow up. 


MN

Comments

  1. JET16 August 2021 at 18:36

    Does Evelyn May speak the Latin words on track Omega Severer or is it a sample? Also, the ethereal wailing/screaming? Is that sample or Evelyn’s vocals? Many thanks.
    Love this track. Will be able to see for myself in December when we see Dvne, as they are supporting Bossk.

    ReplyDelete

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