SUBCONSCIOUS DISSOLUTION into the CONTINUUM

Great British Doom - 97%

Like my Septic Flesh review, I only have one of Esoteric’s albums and I will review the album on its own merits. The album itself has interesting guitar work (as the word, riff, isn’t really needed here) and the drums are used for atmospheric purposes, there are some use of feedback as the songs reach their end and hardly any use of keyboards and synths.

Most bands, as mutiilator has pointed out, see four songs as EP or singles material, Esoteric makes full lengths with only three or four songs (anymore than that would need another CD). The vocalist, Greg Chandler, sings in a slow, guttural voice which goes along with the atmospheric guitar work, which shows how much the band care for their craft.

Each song (apart from “Arcane Dissolution”, which is the outro to “Grey Day”) change gears, though the songs themselves never go into any beyond just below mid paced at all, just various shades of slowness and darkness.

The album itself works because the guitar work is actually brilliant as it actually creates the doom-laden atmosphere it intends to create while the drummer comes in when he’s needed and the vocalist himself furthers the atmosphere. Barely any flaws with the craftsmanship of the album, certainly worthy of being of the greatest Doom Metal bands of all-time.

Written by Manchester_Devil on September 26th, 2004 (Metal Archives)