DIRGE — Down, Last Level (review)

DIRGE — Down, Last Level album cover Album · 1998 · Atmospheric Sludge Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Down Last Level" is the debut full-length album by French post metal act Dirge. The album was released by the band themselves in 1998.

The music style is slow and crushingly heavy post metal which reminds me a bit of Neurosis mid- to late nineties output. Dirge is no Neurosis clone though. They certainly have their own style. In addition to the crushingly slow heavy riffing there are programming and samples in the music too which work to great effect and create a bleak atmosphere. The samples are mostly of people speaking but also just noises that supports the music. The vocals are shouting, angry and at times melancholic but there are actually not that many vocals on the album. The album features an extremely unpleasant and dark atmosphere best exemplified by the sample in the song "Weak" of a female rape victim telling her gruesome story. It actually made me physically uncomfortable. That song features a drone section that lasts 12 minutes before the actual song begins and I wasn´t too happy with that section before I understood what it´s meant to symbolize. Most unsettling.

The musicianship is overall strong and I especially enjoy the many samples and programmed noises and sounds. I really think they give the music an extra dimension that sets Dirge apart from most other post metal acts. The more "ordinary" post metal sections are also played with lots of conviction and passion. if I should mention one issue it´s probably that Dirge tend to overuse some of their samples a bit but it´s not a big problem.

The production is raw and unpolished. The raw sound suits the music well.

"Down Last Level" is a good quality post metal album. I´ve been disappointed so often by post metal bands that try a bit too hard to sound like some of the big bands in the genre like Neurosis or Isis but Dirge has really made an album that, while still being influenced greatly by Neurosis, can stand on its own two feet and sound original. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Try and write directly to the band, it sometimes pays off :-)
Doomster wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Does anyone know where I can get a copy of this album? I can't find it anywhere.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed