UMUR
"Dusk... Subside" is the debut release by Australian doom/death metal act Inverloch. It´s a 3 track, 22:21 minutes long EP released through Relapse Records in April 2012. It´s notable that Inverloch features Paul Mazziotta (drums) and Matthew Skarajew (guitars) in the lineup. Both were members of legendary doom/death metal act diSEMBOWELMENT who released the equally legendary "Transcendence into the Peripheral" album in 1993, but disbanded shortly after.
"Transcendence into the Peripheral" earned it´s legendary status as one of the first albums to feature funeral doom sections, but diSEMBOWELMENT also added death grinding parts and more regular death metal parts to their music. "Dusk... Subside" is pretty much the natural successor to "Transcendence into the Peripheral". Even 19 years down the line, and despite of a name change, these guys still know how to deliver intriguing, well played, varied and crushingly heavy doom/death. While there are certainly slow and doomy parts a plenty on the EP ("The Menin Road" is a fully fledged funeral doom track), Inverloch also include death grinding parts, which make "Dusk... Subside" quite the varied release.
The musicianship is on a high level. The band manage to pull both grinding and ultra doomy parts off in a convincing manner. There is an emphasis on dark and gloomy atmosphere throughout the EP that´s greatly enjoyable. The growling vocals can be a bit monotone, but it´s a slight issue and fans of ultra brutal and unintelligible growling vocals probably won´t mind a bit.
Keeping in mind the high quality and groundbreaking nature of "Transcendence into the Peripheral", it should come as no surprise that "Dusk... Subside" is also a high quality release despite a new name and lineup. Fans of adventurous and atmospheric doom/death metal should definitely spend their hard earned money on this one. You won´t regret it. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is well deserved. I WANT MORE!!!