Built from years of jammed exploration in their youth and developed off the cuff into an imposing, wholly capable live act beyond 2015 Chicago, Illinois-based heavy psychedelic doom quartet Rezn transcend the usual stoner/psych derailments by way of their own lush and beaming thread, a most steady subconscious voice which carries strong through each of their four admirably crafted and independently released full-lengths to date. Simply put, their fourth longplayer ‘Solace‘ attempts to do more with less, seeking to displace the atmosphere they so deftly generate into a bigger and bolder step beyond the well-explored stoner doom trip and deeper into their own rift. For the riff motivated head it’ll be a sleepier, vexing trip through blurred visions and expansive landscapes which almost entirely escape the heavier rhythmic rush of past releases. In this way the focus turns to the increasingly potent psychedelia wafting off of their craft, an ethereal jazz-tinged calm which should still appeal to the already terminally chill following they’ve amassed.

Rezn formed by way of guitarist/vocalist Rob McWilliams and bassist/co-vocalist Phil Cangelosi when they were pre-teens, jamming and developing their writing and performance skills for years in the suburbs of Virginia before eventually moving to Chicago, signing on engineer/drummer Patrick Dunn and running with it from there. They were “ready” generally speaking in terms of not only hitting live shows with new material but prepared to jump into the studio and record a debut album (‘Let it Burn‘, 2017) and while I realize comparing this style of band to Electric Wizard is cliché that first record had a serious waft of ‘Electric Wizard‘, a true psychedelic doom metal record which relied upon long sections of searching spaced-out and ethereal jammed feeling moreso than it created dread. Listen to “Wake” from that first record and you’ll get where I’m coming from, likewise you’ll get why I’d been interested in the band from the get-go as a fan of heavier, harder edged psychedelic/stoner doom metal. Soon after their debut released the band would add second guitarist and modular synth whirler Spencer Ouellette to the fold and record their second full-length ‘Calm Black Water‘ (2018) and this is arguably where their signature and their bigger live capability came into clearer view having established an aesthetic with brilliantly colorful Allyson Medeiros paintings as cover art and a sound which was equally capable of huge, heavier than doom metal haunts and immersive psychedelic jams which were separate and hybridized in form, the peak example being “Quantum Being” for my taste. The signature was more than seeded therein but established and explored with some of their best songs to date found on that second album.

With the arrival of ‘Chaotic Divine‘ in 2020 it’d felt like Rezn had the signature down but their works read all the more ambitious, tentatively leaning in a more progressive direction within songs that’d read as vignettes of various export without the seamlessly drifting quality of prior releases. Dual vocals came into play more often, experimental jams and ambient pieces spaced out the bigger songs, and in general that record felt like a band unsure where to tread next, or, at least unsure of how to tie all of those ideas together. It was a good album though I believe the greater sea-change we find on ‘Solace‘ showcases a notable response to an evident need for change, for a general tap of the reset button in terms of how they’d construct a wholly considered, experiential event. That is how I’d describe this latest record in general, well-considered as an experience rather than the simple set of high impact pieces that we’d gotten on their first two records. Granted all of the pieces to their greater puzzle were in a different configuration on ‘Chaotic Divine‘ but here they are in a more pleasant arrangement, a steadily flowing record which doesn’t so readily abandon the heaviness of their earlier psychedelic stoner/doom metal brunt.

Rezn have all the time in the world here on ‘Solace‘ as they drift in on the slow and easygoing waves of “Allured by Feverish Visions”, a simple chord progression echoing along its cinematically slinking 7+ minute creep of an introduction. In preview my mind couldn’t help but zone when this piece hit, having “gotten” it quickly and resigned to letting the effect sink in. At face value “Possession” is something very different for the band in terms of their general register, the vocal work is still very much signature Rezn but crystal clear in their ascent and the riffs are yet very much psychedelic doom rock in their delivery but all has been tweaked to a luminous, shimmering quality which sets this piece as a standalone introductory moment. “Reversal” changes the mood but continues the conversation, a darker yet equally immersed flood which feels like the second wave of their arrival within this realm. Not only is the piece itself stirring in its Windhand-esque burn and tragedian lilt but the quality of this recording, the greater render of an imposing and cavernous space smokes from the speakers more than any past recording. The fair question to ask, though, is eh is this thing going to get heavy at some point?

If you are just here for the heavy guitar music, want a big groove and an unforgettable riff the major payoff and the main event of the listen will be Side B opener “Stasis”, a classic piece which speaks to both where Rezn began as a realized entity and where they’ve taken it. I got the chills on the first twenty listens, had the song stuck in my head for two weeks, no doubt this is the sort of stuff that sticks in my mind for how haunting the overall effect is. But really, that’ll almost feel beside the point as just one aspect of the bigger picture ‘Solace‘ is attempting to provide here as Rezn showcase just how much else they can do while making as big a possible showing within each theme. The post-punk guitar lines, fading synth whorls and general downturn of the song is masterful and shows they’ve still got some bright ideas to inject into this form beyond ‘Calm Black Water‘. The saxophone wielding “Faded and Fleeting” provides the contemplative comedown, a partial summing of what’d been gained and explored on ‘Chaotic Divine‘ in some respect and an effective follow-through on the fade of “Statis”. This ends up being my favorite collective section of the record, one which eventually convinced me to sup more heartily from what the rest of the record was doing.

By giving the listener a more focused yet equally eclectic exploration of their greater oeuvre ‘Solace‘ effectively makes the argument for Rezn as a notable entity within the stoney psychedelic doom metal influenced sphere of today, a band capable of memorable and emotive dread-bound pieces but no longer limited to a singularly forlorn channel. Each of these six pieces count towards the greater total yet maintain admirable focus, flowing into one another with the purpose of rest, reflection and steeping in the sonic lustre they’ve managed to full effect. I’d found myself returning to this record often, initially finding it a slow-growing event before appreciating the subtle heft that’d gone over my head early on. A moderately high recommendation.

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