DVNE: Voidkind

With the thunderous success of Denis Villenueve’s masterful Dune films, it seems that Dune is in the zeitgeist to stay for a while. What better timing then for sludge-infused prog metal band DVNE to release their third full-length record. Now, to be fair to the Scottish quintet, they have been dropping their “Songs of Arrakis” since before the first film was released. It just seems we all decided to get obsessed with Frank Herbert’s epic around the same time, eh? So, what does Voidkind have to offer to the world of spice and sandworms?

Voidkind is more of the same sound from DVNE: well-written sludgy prog metal. If you’re a fan of Mastodon then this might just hit the spot for you. It slams into you like a big ole sandstorm with its pounding riffs and thunderous drums applied with near relentless aggression. The first track is good and sets the tone for the whole record. You’re gonna get growls and roars; you’re gonna get melodic and layered cleans, and you’re gonna get alternating light and shade to weave you in and out of the story. What I love about this sound is the expert use of open chords that really round out the high end, rather than just chugging on power chords. There are keyboards as well, but not nearly as prominent as they should be.

Songwriting continues to be excellent for DVNE. I am in love with Eleanora, that drop is phenomenal. Samartae just hits like a truck, or maybe a sandworm. It’s sandwiched in between two more atmospheric tracks, and makes for the best flow of the album. The second one fades into silence, only for Abode of the Perfect Soul to smack you senseless with its intro. Each time I listen to the record I find a new favourite, with Reaching for Telos shining in all its riffy goodness, and Cobalt Sun Necropolis makes for an excellent closer. The instrumental passages on that track are seriously good and make it worth its length. It also gives the album it's title, as Voidkind! is belted out to close the whole record.

Overall, a slew of excellent songs makes for a fairly cohesive record that comes in at just under an hour. I wouldn’t say it’s bloated, but perhaps a track cut here or there would make it more to the point. No individual performance on Voidkind shines above the rest, though I will say that the drumming is particularly excellent even if not too flashy. The production is pretty muddy though, which makes the drumming a bit harder to discern. I suppose that sound sort-of works for the sludgier side of prog, but I would have liked to be able to hear the precision a bit more clearly. This also masks the keyboards, a new dedicated feature for DVNE, aside from when they are isolated.

Aside from the production, the biggest issue I have with Voidkind isn’t that any of it is bad per se; I like nearly every song. The issue is that it fails to be memorable. After each listen I find myself thinking “Yep, that was awesome…anyway.” There are catchy bits for sure, but they are not as immediately grabbing and don’t really leave you hankering for more. I do keep coming back though, so perhaps it will embed itself after more time, but I’m not certain it will break the mold into being a truly excellent album. It’s really good, but not fantastic in the way other albums have been this year. Still, DVNE are doing fantastic things here, and will almost certainly at least reach an honourable mention by the end of the year.

7.5/10

Top Tracks: Eleanora • Samartae • Cobalt Sun Necropolis

Voidkind

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MUSICA UNIVERSALIS