Awaiting the coming age of wrath, the final cataclysmic stirring of the greyed-over muck of life on our cursed planet Green Bay, Wisconsin-based death/doom metal quartet Dusk return for a second full-length album, tasking themselves with an ‘old school’ suite of depressive frustration twenty-eight years beyond their last. For the ancient romanticist death metal aficionado seeking the malaise of the early-to-mid 90’s most of what ‘Dissolve Into Ash‘ has to offer is clear in its nostalgic intent, a rebuilt cage of despairing gothic metal adjacent extreme doom surrounded by a maze of mid-paced wrought iron riffs and long faces. The experience is miserable to a fault though it may not prove memorable beyond the most die-hard fandom seeking a glimpse forward after their neck’d been left to atrophy, craned over shoulder into the past for so long.

Dusk formed circa 1993 as a crew of ex-thrashers put together a death/doom metal band inspired by the new sounds of early Cathedral and My Dying Bride and assumedly in appreciation for the deeper dichotomy and lux-ugly distemper of Disembowelment. This was not an uncommon wave at the time with similar notions from bands like Evoken, Morgion and Ceremonium (among many others…) sparking up between 1993-1995. This is when the majority of the quartet’s activity took place in terms of studio time (usually at Simple Studios) in quick development of their simply lain romanticist doom metal craft and its infusion of lumbering, half-speed ‘old school’ groove-oriented death metal. Their debut came by way of the infamous self-titled release (‘Dusk‘, 1994) which came by way of Cyber Music (see: early Varathron, Phlebotomized, etc.) which was quickly followed by their comparatively modestly released debut LP (‘…Majestic Thou in Ruin‘, 1995) which wasn’t broadly appreciated until a later reissue in the early 2000’s would expose them to a successive generation of ‘old school’ obsessed audience online. Use of guitar synth and crystal clear production values alongside a unique drum sound made Dusk appear otherworldly at the time compared to most else in the death/doom sphere, while their original sound might seem up to a modern standard today per the remasters abounding it was sublimely different for 1994 and unique it is glassy yet forlorn atmosphere.

DEEPER LISTENING: [x]

Ceremonium: Though these folks were more of an overall death metal band considering their earlier demo/EP recordings, their debut album (‘Into the Autumn Shade‘, 1995) yet takes similar influences and bruises them up in a less refined, more emotionally driven way. An absolute classic of death/doom and just as essential as Dusk‘s ’94-’95 releases.

Cathedral: Between the ‘In Memoriam‘ demo tape and ‘Forest of Equilibrium‘ most death/doom metal of a certain era took inspiration from these (otherwise) stoner/doom metal pioneers.

Disembowelment: The ‘Dusk‘ (1992) EP must’ve been an important inspiration, eh, right?

Aphotic: What did Dusk do after splitting up? Well, after the vocalist/bassist left to do Christian missionary work in Africa (?) most of the 1996-1998 lineup formed another band which resembled their prior work, retaining only Steve Gross from the original lineup. The ‘Failure‘ (2005) EP kinda sucks, apologies, but their first two EP releases (‘Aphotic‘, 2000 and ‘Under Veil of Dark‘, 2001) will be worthwhile to anyone who followed Katatonia beyond 1996 and still wanted a bit of a growl.

Also check out: Morgion‘s ‘Travesty‘ (1993) EP and Thorns of the Carrion.

The core group had mutated a bit by 1998 when they’d called it quits with one part of the band fracturing off into Aphotic, a related vision and spiritual succession per what they’d been working on around 1997. The missing link wasn’t revealed until 2005 when a split between Dusk and their succession (‘The Slumber‘, 2005) found the post-mortem recordings from the band moving in a heavy gothic metal inspired direction and, I suppose this helps us walk the path from 1998-2018 with more ground uncovered as the ‘Withdraw‘ (2018) EP serving as their comeback release beyond reforming in 2015. It was average at best from my point of view in terms of the death metal interest, and I don’t think the intent of Dusk had necessarily ever lined up with what listeners appreciated about them which was the heft of their viable death metal positioning in between the breathy, dramatic atmosphere of their doom metal torso. What was fully missing at that point was the unique drum production/performances of their early material and as such for many the lustre of the band’s past had faded upon return. So, this is necessary context for me heading into ‘Dissolve Into Ash‘ expecting an approximation of what Dusk were but also a continuation of where they’d taken it beyond 2018. The result is perhaps what they might’ve done back in 1998 had they continued on, amplifying the mid-paced and increasingly blunted edge of their death metal with some listless gothic metal fusion.

‘Dissolved into Ash‘ is technically a pandemic album, a vision of the end of the world during a time where everything was uncertain and the collapse of “Western” society appeared to be escalating at a faster rate than usual. The apocalyptic funeral for the world composed here by Dusk intended to present an overwhelmed, tormented state of mind in a depressed state and this means slow-lumbering rhythms, beats on the precipice of collapse, and the familiar voice of vocalist Steve Crane who acts more as a snarling narrator than an emotional directive beyond frustration. Up front, we’ve got a pretty single-minded approach here in general as the pacing of this album is set to lukewarm and rides that wave for ~50 minutes with some 90’s gothic metal interjections, such as the melodic guest vocals from Dana Ignarski on a number of songs. The unique timbre of the drums once again does not return and the use of guitar synth/keyboards is fairly light in feature, though the layers of sound design are plentiful enough to give way to a full, richly presented sound. At the outset, though, this is all an exciting first reveal after several years in terms of hearing a bit of ancient doom coming from the group with “Beacon Obscured”, perhaps their most self-aware piece since reforming and despite the ‘Selfless‘-era Godflesh guitar grooves abounding.

The flood of despair that comes with the uneasy, raw tension of the opener carries over into the next few songs with the percussive and chunking “The Dim Divide” again hitting more of an early 90’s industrial metal charged death-groove than anything particularly ‘old school’ death metal related. While I’d appreciated the confrontational side of their riffcraft ringing loud, creating a pretty glorious juxtaposition to the hum of the synths around ~3:16 minutes in, this’d only illustrated their incessant need to push at a harder pace than necessary and fill every moment with some manner of action. The best way I’ve found I could put it is that, to me, Dusk were always a despondent death metal band at 50% speed and now they’re pushing up toward 75% speed most of the time; There are points of relief from the chugging drag of their action here and there, though, such as “The Promise Passed” which serves a mournful doom metal saunter to start before edging toward a riff you’d almost think was written back in the Aphotic days for its ‘Discouraged Ones‘-esque launch beyond ~3:00 minutes in. “An Aerial View” likewise gives us some of the old soul of Dusk with a different sort of dramatism attached but I’d found myself lost in the running order around the third listen, finding little in the way of profundity to mark the path through the end.

Even without the same feeling fully returning to the old extremities and the unique sound design of the band entirely lost ‘Dissolve Into Ash‘ is yet a fine example of classic death/doom metal built upon miserable emotions and the depressive accost of it all was effective once the jog-paced movement of it all settles in mind. Though I’d have cut at least one of the lengthier pieces on the run-through to remain fixated I’d nonetheless appreciated that each section either related or flowed directly into the next, allowing for Dusk to dominate the senses with this corridor of ailing mindset as they go on hammering in their point beyond the length of the nail itself. If the goal was to return to the old ways in spirit they’ve succeeded on some level but I would suggest the listener go in expecting this album more as a reminder of their brilliantly obscure legacy rather than a profound extension of it. A moderately high recommendation.

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