Crafted by way of a pandemia-related bout of sedentary dementia and given severe theme per a dire existential dilemma Richmond, Virginia-based melodic black/death metal trio DREAMLESS VEIL present their debut full-length album as a restless dissolution, a characterization of despair as it bleeds out in branching path. Dramatic as ‘Every Limb of the Flood‘ may rightfully appear on paper in motion it offers a well above-average forge of modern black metal in gnarled yet contained stretches capable of both wrath and melodic churn. As a starting point presented at a high standard no doubt the experience and technique of the fellowes involved shines first though there is some level of personalized expressivity explored within the generally neat yet bruising experience as a whole.

Dreamless Veil is a pandemic-era side project formed circa 2020 as main composer/guitarist Dan Gargiulo (Artificial Brain, ex-Revocation) and vocalist Mike Paparo (Inter Arma) began working together to realize the former’s vision for an appropriately bleak black metal inspired album. Neither artist is a stranger to black metal in any sense with Gargiulo being part of Spite‘s live line-up and Paparo featuring in Bastard Sapling in the early 2010’s but that isn’t all that they’d brought to this project as they’ve used the sub-genre as a tonal nodule for theme and atmospheric specificity. No need to check the necro-authenticity at the door then, there is more to this record than its “blackened” aesthetic and the result isn’t necessarily mind-blowingly deep beyond their delivery on an expected high skill level. Bringing in thee Dave Haley (Psycroptic, Consummation, et al.) on drums only reinforces the expectation of a faster paced, technique driven swatter.

This one is a bit tricky to sort out in terms of these folks obviously coming from technical and surreal death metal backgrounds but focusing on a style of black metal here which is characterized by cavernous vocal effects and incessant battery, riding the line between the grinding reap of Crimson Massacre and something like Wolves in the Throne Room with an obvious taste for melodic black metal as the echoic binder for their concoction. This level of confusion brought into the recombination of technical skills, death metal’s rhythmic “pocket” and specific tastes in black metal atmosphere is kind of a tradition in terms of well, “bad” USBM dating back to the early 90’s Midwest scenes. That isn’t to say that this record will appeal to fans of the refined reformation of groups like Epoch of Unlight, though, as ‘Every Limb of the Flood‘ thirsts near a distinct personae early on but almost self-consciously voids the thrum of its melodicism for the sake of exploring post-black chord shapes, dissonance in-phrase and cannot resist making good use of Haley‘s rocket feet for some choice clangor n’ tech.

“A Generation of Eyes” is the initial triumphal heap, the dread released and the major vein which outlets into the rest of the album’s path, a notably nuanced but only occasionally profound trek. I figure it’ll be the first song to catch ears for its melodic device, a guitar hook yanked from Scandinavian melodic black metal vernacular, before variations begin to dilute into technical showpieces or maudlin dissolution which echoes the dismal tone set up by opener “Dim Golden Rave”. Either way from the get-go we are greeted by a modern presentation of black metal influenced sounds which might appear intent on upscaling the usual 90’s tenets but this is largely for the sake of packing riffs into each song in order to sate the overactive, searching mind. Those earlier highly expressive pursuits aren’t particularly original or mind-bending in their reach but there is some conviction in this stew of ideas which only becomes more complex in its concoction with the addition of gloomier, pensive pieces “Saturnism” b/w “The Stirring of Flies” each of which leans into a dramatic sense of malaise via ringing arpeggiation and crook-fingered chords. To Gargiulo‘s credit this album has already -gone places- on Side A and only seems to tunnel within its curiosity as the running order proceeds into its increasingly gnarled second half.

While ‘Every Limb of the Flood‘ ultimately doesn’t land unidimensional as expected, I’d figured this was a one-off take on melodic black metal and it certainly isn’t, I did feel I was witnessing the fire die in the eyes of something potentially unique as some of the more connective ideas found on Side A were largely relegated to the title track (“Every Limb of the Flood”) with the rest of the downturn giving in to nihil as a way of finishing the thought and moving on. “Dreamless” is the piece to finish said thought, a closer which brings in some of the more interesting meter found on the full listen, a slower-paced and at times martial push which does well to back the inelegant tonal meander of the piece. Much as I do enjoy a good bout of hopeless dissociation I was consistently left with the feeling that this album reaches for profundity early on, lets it slip and simply churns beyond that point without making a statement. While this is fitting of the assigned theme, per lyrics written after the music was largely complete, the result again ain’t all that deep beyond the pleasure of their musicianship reaching its full head before becoming a disembodied wrenching between black and death metal muse.

As is the case with the vast majority of black metal-related muse ‘Every Limb of the Flood‘ benefits from its emotionally driven echo chamber, intensifying its cathartic value while limiting its greater reach. The experience of mulling over dark thoughts set in the cavernous narrative provided by Pompano is no doubt entertaining as an amalgam of nihilistic existentialism and fatal prose milled into sweaty black/death metal dysphoria though there is the sense that Dreamless Veil was built upon temporary foundations, a reaction to captivity from folks who live for the road that would eventually pass. With so many options for what folks now consider an era of busywork and filler projects for extreme metal they’ve done well to stylize the aesthetic of the final product so that it doesn’t appear outright phoned-in or passive in purpose though I do think this album is missing a big moment (or two) which defines the act and suggests they’ve more work to put into this well of restless, doomed energy. Still, there’ll be no denying the handful of peaking moments found along their downward spiraling path which convey some palpable conviction and that still counts for quite a lot in this particular realm. A moderately high recommendation.

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