Dark Suns "Existence" CD
[Prophecy Productions]
I randomly downloaded this entire CD from some Russian FTP site a few weeks ago having never heard of the band before, so needless to say when I was greeted with well over an hour's worth of these Germans' supremely dark, progressive, atmospheric metal, I immediately went and ordered a copy of both "Existence" and their prior CD (which was recently reissued, also by Prophecy Productions) - so fuck you if you think mp3's never do any good! It seems that this record is receiving a rightfully large number of glowing reviews, but for some reason few people seem to be familiar with Dark Suns just yet, and that fact is in sore need of a change. Not unexpectedly it seems that these guys are very commonly compared to Opeth, but aside from the fact that the two are both influenced by progressive rock and possess penchants for switching back and forth between light and heavy moments, I wouldn't really draw too direct a connection between the two. But it's not an inaccurate claim. Yes, they're obviously contemporaries, and on select occasions Dark Suns does walk a close line to an Åkerfeldt-esque riffing style, so Opeth fans should find many characteristics to appreciate here, but the vocals on this outing are almost completely delivered by soft singing, and there's often a doomy sort of undercurrent (not to mention that keyboards are used far more often, though generally efficiently). There's not as much contrast as Opeth, however, and that's one thing that can minimally hold the band back at times, since the massive length of the disc would optimally call for as much variation as possible to hold the listener's interest. After a couple of cinematic sounding two-minute starter tracks that are kind of setting the pace for what's to come, things really start to pick up with the six-minute "The Euphoric Sense" and its staggered picking patterns and tactful synth and acoustic guitar accents - not to mention excellently composed songwriting that strikes a truly memorable balance between its emotional atmospheres and colorful musical aptitude. The more chilled out and restrained "Anemone" similarly brings in some excellent vocal melodies and memorable musicianship during the chorus, which makes for one of the brightest moments of the disc despite the fact that the track as a whole isn't completely outstanding. Initially it seems that the 11-minute "You, a Phantom Still" might be a bit of a lull point, taking more than a minute to finally kick into gear, but when it does, it's actually one of the more consistently interesting tracks - even if it is the one track that really sounds like Opeth in its focus on lush progressive rock trappings and beautiful acoustic work contrasted by winding metal riffs and stripped down power chord backings. But it's also among the few areas where the vocals start to lean towards a bit of a distant shout, alongside the token croons and whispers heard throughout, and I think more of that variation could add to the band's range of dynamics were they to start introducing a little more of that. In addition to a couple of "Still Life" era Opeth-isms, "Gently Bleeding" is a track that touches on similarities to my favorite Swede Dan Swanö's work with Nightingale, notably during the awesomely rocked out lead break. 11-minute "Patterns of Oblivion" opens on a somber note, and after making the mistake of too soon sinking into another restrained clean passage, completely reinvents itself midway through with a quick surge of midpaced distorted chords and gorgeous vocal layering that ebbs back and forth for the remainder of the track with a couple of distant lead bursts. Thankfully 13-minute closer "One Endless Childish Day" quickly sets the piano and soft singing aside in favor of off kilter picking patterns and stuttered time signatures that see electric and acoustic guitars closely intertwined. Make no mistake though, within a few minutes things have stripped back to faint keys and fingerpicked acoustic guitars before slowly rebuilding in fine form to one of the heavier and more plodding passages of the entire disc. A fitting end, indeed. Also playing into this whole issue of contrast are a couple of slight issues with the recording, which is for the most part very professional. My key suggestions would be to thicken up the distortion and turn up the bass, as taking notice of a bassline is almost unheard of herein, and the distorted guitars lack the heaviness and density required to properly amp up the heavier moments and add the proper level of distinction against all of the subdued clean passages. None of this creates a hitch in the listening experience, it's just that there's a little room for minor improvements that would have an impact on the big picture. The layout looks very nice and includes a thick booklet with all of the lyrics and loads of artwork. The only thing that bothers me about the booklet is that they kind of give each set of lyrics its own look, so too many typefaces are used in the process and it ends up looking inconsistent and at times hard to read - which is odd since it seems to be a concept record in which the lyrics are connected in overall theme. The tracklist is even divided into three parts (broken out as "allegories" within the booklet), one of which plays out of sequence on disc (starting with section 2.4, then 2.5, then back to 2.1) even though the lyrical passages are presented in the proper order - probably simply to be "creative" and fuck with things rather than for any specific reason!? Whatever the case, lyrics are almost always of little concern to me when it comes to this sort of stuff, though I will credit this content with hitting on some expressive passages: "My days run and my mind blanks at the glare, My pulse as strong as wind that curls the flood..." The only true aspect holding this disc back from impressing me enough to hit the next level is a matter of endurance, because let's face it: It's a monumental feat to unload nearly 80 minutes of music that never becomes dull. But this affair, as excellent as it may be, is simply too damn long for what it offers - and the songs on the latter half of the disc routinely topping 10 minutes is certainly a big chunk of that. It's actually pretty hard to make it through the entire disc in one sitting, but it's not so much that there's room for trimming the fat as it is that the songs simply need to offer a little more variety in terms of tempo and dynamics. It certainly wouldn't hurt to shave off at least 10 minutes from the total running time (axing those first two little cuts and opening with "The Euphoric Sense" would've been a start) - but overly consistent and repetitious songwriting such as that in the seven-minute "Abiding Space" is simply bland in the grand scheme of things, and such tracks honestly shouldn't make the cut against killer epics like "One Endless Childish Day". But too often when you find yourself wanting things to get louder and heavier and keep building, the band heads in the opposite direction and relies on laidback atmospheres - making for an amazing record from an impressive band... just one that does have, well, boring stretches. But all things considered, Dark Suns is a pretty incredible band that's still probably just starting to truly develop - even if they have been active since 1997. Without a doubt I'll be very much looking forward to their next effort, and my guess is that it's going to be a significant step forward. (8/10)
Running time - 77:50, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: The Euphoric Sense, Anemone, You, a Phantom Still, One Endless Childish Day]
Dark Suns - http://www.darksuns.de

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