LP Review: "Lost Empyrean" by Dirge

Lost Empyrean

It's late November and The United States is headed towards Thanksgiving 2018 on a brighter path.

Late Autumn though, it's a good time to be alive. The world has turned grey. Mother Earth cannot decide whether or not she wants to be snowy, rainy, cold, or sunny.

November is when we all must make our choices. This year, we have more of the cold than the warm. I'm thanking all of the gods in all of the pantheons for that.

Veteran Parsian post-metal-sub-doom-with a side of death rockers, Dirge, have created the perfect soundtrack for the coming winter and the previous year.

It's been four years since they've graced the world with an album, and this one is worth the wait. It's slow, plodding, and swirling. Too many bands try so hard to be fast, heavy, and thick that the music takes a backseat to the heavy.

Lost Empyrean starts slow and thin, but builds to a crescendo. It's never overly heavy, never too mellow. It's standing pat in the upside down. Dirge has created a record to get lost in.

Take your time with it. My paltry description will never give you the sense of having heard this masterpiece of a record. Get it. Listen to it. Pay attention.

RELEASE 12/14/18 BANDCAMP FACEBOOK

LP Review: "Ah Puch" by Dirge

Ah Puch

There is something very special about Doom Metal to me. It's the one type of metal that reaches out to touch the ancients. So, Doom always gets a look from me.

Pune, India's Dirge is preparing to unleash their concept album about ancient Mayan mythology onto the rest of the world. Thanks to the magic of the internet, this indie record can be in your ears too.

A doom metal concept record from a country without a vaunted metal scene. This ticks all of my boxes personally, but none of that matters without the strength of the music to back it up.

This is a slow tempo, Godzilla stomp of a doom metal record. The thick sludge has just the right amount of filth to it. One can almost feel the sweltering jungles of the Yucatan.

Ah Puch has just enough musical diversity mixed in with droning doom to keep the long songs and album flowing on an even keel. The vocals are pained and impassioned. The guitars are riffy. The rhythm section holds the flow to a steady drip drip pace.

Ah Puch has put Dirge on my radar.

Release: 10/19/18 FACEBOOK BANDCAMP