ESOTERIC — Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum (review)

ESOTERIC — Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum album cover

Album · 2004 · Funeral Doom Metal

4.5/5 · 2011-12-11
Wilytank

1999 saw the release of a notably cleaner sounding tone in Esoteric's music in the form of 'Metamorphogenesis'. Five years afterwards, these guys issue in another short album (by Esoteric standards). The sound is even cleaner on this offering titled 'Subconscious Dissolution Into the Continuum', and the Esoteric atmosphere gets even weirder with it. Unfortunately, I also feel that this is their weakest incarnation yet.

"Morphia"'s intro has everything that Esoteric has had before. Alien sounding rhythm guitar and a lead guitar eventually melting into some heavier, plodding riffs. It feels, however, when the vocals start and lead guitar goes away that the song goes on for an eternity (until about the four minute mark) of a riff that's not as creative as the Esoteric I'm used to. The four minute mark variation only jumps back to the notes that were present in the intro. 6:36 does introduce a newer variation to break this monotony, thankfully. The lead guitar and distorted ambiance that I like in Esoteric kicks in and sticks around for about two and a half minutes before the major atmosphere fades away again. The most annoying aspect of the song is that the tempo doesn't vary and the atmospheric aspects of the lead guitar and keyboards aren't around long enough to leave a lasting effect.

"The Blood of the Eyes" starts off with a much lighter sounding tone provided by lead guitar, keyboard, and rhythm guitar. The light sounding rhythm guitar turns into heavy riffs while the rest of the light sounding aspects continue onward. Already, this is much better than "Morphia". Finally, after four minutes, the song grows darker with the lead guitar disappearing. The keyboard seems to stay around to layer the atmosphere a little better. About a minute later, it shifts back to the lighter sounding tone with the lead guitar returning. This almost feels like a Skepticism song. At the 7:34 mark, the tempo switches up to a slightly faster pace and the tone growing darker until 9:34 where the riffs break into chugging going on for a minute. Then grows slow and darker to finish up the song.

"'Tis but a fucking grey day for me now." I'm sorry, but that first line to the song "Grey Day" just cracks me up. The song carries a more sorrowful tone which goes well with the more depressive lyrics. The most dense alien atmosphere is present in this song. It's not light sounding like "The Blood of the Eyes". This sounds much more dark and disturbing, yet spacey and drifting; the ideal area for Esoteric in my book. The lead guitar's presence is well established in the 17 minute duration of the song. But even when it's not around, the song doesn't get boring. The tempo changes a few seconds before the song reaches the ten minute mark when the lead guitar isn't going. I'm not totally sure when it slows down again, but the slow parts of the song contain the most dense atmosphere. Parts of it seem reminiscent to 'Epistemological Despondency'

So what's left? "Arcane Dissolution" is just a chance reflect on the disturbing passage taken. It's mostly ambient with growling and steady beats of percussion and guitar chords.

So, "Morphia" was mediocre by Esoteric standards, "The Blood of the Eyes" was better, and "Grey Day" was the best of the bunch. Underwhelming when compared Esoteric's more legendary works, but still fine in its own right. And yeah, Greg Chandler is still my hero of doom metal.