Dystopia continues its journey.
Still signed to Immortal Frost Productions, the band comprising Cees de Wit (drums, Pulverised), Dennis Onsia (vocals/guitar, Pulverised), Rick Jongman (guitar/vocals), and Thomas Cochrane (guitar/bass/trumpet/trombone, Vetrar Draugurinn, ex-Ancient Rites), announces the release of its fifth album, De verboden diepte II: De weg van de meeste weerstand.
We once again plunge into darkness with Confrontatie, the first of the album’s two tracks, and are initially greeted by a mysterious yet calm sound, which shatters upon the arrival of abrasive rhythms and visceral screams, as well as brass sections that lend the mix a rather majestic quality at times. The raw and unique touch I appreciated in the previous album is back, alternating between heart-wrenching vocal parts and much more ethereal choruses or moments of soothing levity, but the fury always reasserts itself, offering touches of Black/Thrash or intense atmospheric moments that contrast with this wild energy. The final is also very aggressive, but De Ultieme Roeping grants us only a brief respite before erupting without warning, returning to an approach that is at first raw and then much more polished, using piercing, icy leads to fuel the aggression while also incorporating brass to deliver intense, dramatic passages. Although rarer and more unsettling, we are still treated to a few moments of calm, which are also shattered by the return of distortion and orchestrations to create a truly epic moment before the next explosion of violence and darkness, but the band knows exactly how to manage its pace, blending macabre tones and haunting sounds in its final moments.
Although the album contains only two tracks, Dystopia knows exactly how to captivate our attention, managing its pace like a master conductor. De Verboden Diepte II: De Weg van de Meeste Weerstand will leave a lasting impression not only for its mastery but also for its madness.
90/100
