Dorylus – ‘Without Sin’ reviewed
Herts metallers release their debut album
Tracklisting:
1. Under My Flesh
2. Bite The Bullet
3. Lesser Evil
4. First Stone
5. Witch Hunter
6. Mirrors
7. Serpents
8. Upon The Horizon
9. Sunrise
10. Decency Derailed
Four years after their initial inception and two solid EPs, Joe and his band of North Herts-based metallers have launched ‘Without Sin’ their debut full-length album. Having worked with these guys since their formation and seen all the changes that have occured since, it’s good to see these guys now achieving this next level.
Right from the opening track ‘Under My Flesh’, it’s an absolute riff-fest, showcasing their blend of melodic death metal and thrash, and frontman Joe Lyndon’s growls that lie somewhere between Randy Blythe-esque and Jens Kidman. Tracks such as ‘Lesser Evil’ and ‘Witch Hunter’ continue to pile the riffs in, ‘Witch Hunter’ in particular being occasionally Maiden-esque but mixed with a Gothenburg scene-like heaviness, whilst adding enough originality to avoid sounding like mere copyists. There’s a certain sense of maturity and adventurousness to be found in moments on this album; ‘Serpents’ for instance has a melodic opening riff that might appeal to fans of Testament, demonstrating that the band can show some restraint when required. Album highlight and penultimate track ‘Sunrise’ (for which an official video has been shot, posted below) and ‘Decency Derailed’ close the album, the latter complete with acoustic moments that only serve to solidify that sense of growth shown within ‘Without Sin’s ten tracks.
With this, Dorylus finally have the album that they needed to produce – ‘Without Sin’ should see the band continue to expand their fanbase and prove them to be a force to be reckoned with within the UK’s underground metal scene.
‘Without Sin’ is available now on CD at live gigs and from their Bigcartel site at https://dorylusband.bigcartel.com/product/without-sin-album, on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/41BStS4SHDO5KApFfb20Tk, iTunes and other digital platforms.
For fans of: Lamb Of God, Testament, InFlames, Soilwork, Meshuggah
All photos taken by myself at Club 85, Hitchin on 7th June 2019, their album launch.
Contact:
https://www.facebook.com/dorylusband
https://www.instagram.com/dorylusband
‘Beholden To The Flame’ EP – Dystopian Future Movies/Grave Lines
Brooding split EP of post-metal and doom metal
Tracklisting:
1. Dystopian Future Movies – Beholden
2. Dystopian Future Movies/Grave Lines – Dead Sleep
3. Graves Lines – False Flame
Haven’t posted anything new on here for quite some time, so thought I’d break the old writer’s block by reviewing a release that came out earlier this year – the collaborative split EP from Nottingham’s post-metallers Dystopian Future Movies, and London’s doom metallers Grave Lines, ‘Beholden To The Flame’.
Opening track ‘Beholden’ was written and recorded by Dystopian Future Movies and features additional vocals from Grave Lines’ frontman Jake Harding – the lighter side of this project, it offers dramatic, gothic post-metal that might appeal to fans of Chelsea Wolfe or Tori Amos. It wouldn’t be out-of-place on a horror/gothic drama soundtrack.
Second track ‘Dead Sleep’ is a stripped-down collaboration featuring vocals from both DFM’s Caroline Cawley and GL’s Jake Harding, along with DFM’s Bill Fisher on keys, a dark piano-based piece that’s reminiscent of the Jarboe/Gira-led era of Swans’ back catalogue.
Closing track ‘False Flame’ was written by Grave Lines and features guest vocals from DFM’s Caroline Cawley – a dark, brooding piece, starting out as slow-burning gloomy folk, before launching into a heavy doom riff that would appeal to fans of Paradise Lost circa their ‘Draconian Times’ output, alongside Jake’s almighty roar. Just when you think it’s over, it comes back with another heavy riff to finish off. This track in particular is actually one of my favourite releases of 2019 – doom metalheads need to check this out.
‘Beholden To The Flame’ is highly recommended to any fans of darker music, in particular goth, post-metal or doom metal, and is a fine showcase for the material from both bands. Whilst physical copies are now severely limited, ‘Beholden To The Flame’ can still be purchased digitally from either band’s Bandcamp profiles:
https://gravelinesuk.bandcamp.com/
https://dystopianfuturemovies.bandcamp.com/
For fans of: Paradise Lost, Bismuth, Swans, Chelsea Wolf, Tori Amos
Both live photos featured were taken by myself at the GL/DFM gig at The Black Heart, Camden, 09-02-19.
Contact:
https://facebook.com/gravelinesband/
http://facebook.com/dystopianfuturemovies
http://dystopianfuturemovies.com/
thursdayaddams 