You can support Terra Relicta by donating! Please, do so, and thank you!
Band: Dool
Album title: Here Now, There Then
Release date: 17 February 2017
Label: Prophecy Productions
Tracklist:
01. Vantablack
02. Golden Serpents
03. Words On Paper
04. In Her Darkest Hour
05. Oweynagat
06. The Alpha
07. The Death Of Love
08. She-Goat
The Dutch newcomers to the scene, Dool, comes in a really striking way. If I said that they are newcomers is not just right, the band is new, but musicians involved are some of the most notorious ones coming from Holland. This, let's say dark rock band features in it's line-up bassist Job van de Zande and drummer Micha Haring from celebrated cult rockers The Devil’s Blood and the country's most infamous rock singer, the striking Ryanne van Dorst (Elle Bandita, Bad Candy,...). Rounded out by guitarists Nick Polak (Gold) and Reinier Vermeulen (The New Media) the band set the standards very high already with their first single, "Oweynagat", and with their performance at last year's edition of Roadburn Festival. Now Dool who simply radiates an undeniable raw energy and blend together various musical genres into one hell of a coherent musical entity are out with their debut album named Here Now, There Then. And who else than one of the most prominent labels, Prophecy Productions, a label which already brought to us so many mind blowing releases since its inception in 1996, didn't hesitate a second to sing them and make this thing available for you to enjoy it properly.
It's more than sure that fans of now defunct band The Devil's Blood will find many things to their liking in this music, but the versatile nature of Dool's music is soo very broad that also fans of classic hard rock, gothic rock/pop, alternative rock, doom metal, heavy metal and psychedelic metal will find plenty of things to explore. It's nothing strange that some said that Dool's music is a strange marriage of The Sisters Of Mercy and Sonic Youth in the first place. I can agree to a certain point with this saying, but could add there a lot more of other names. So, on their debut Here Now, There Then, Dool offers eight songs of supreme songwriting and remarkable musical diversity. Even though that the elements used and some influences are evident, Dool are an original band, one of the most in these fields.
Here Now, There Then opens with an epic, more than 10 minutes long haunting song named "Vantablack". This is maybe the darkest and absolutely most adventurous piece on this album, it unites kind of a haunting gothic rock with strong poignant doom and post-rock vibe. It's evident that the vocalist Ryanne van Dorst with her pretty original and hypnotic voice is a centerfold here and with her specific way of singing creates such a lucid ambiance that sometimes brings shivers down the spine. But as well the instrumentation with strong rhythmic line, old-school heavy guitars with some catchy melodies, nice leads and a couple of discordant psychedelic passages really makes out of this one of a kind masterpiece. There's plenty of 70s hard rock, old school heavy metal and hallucinating psychedelic/art rock elements, best evident in the next couple of tracks, especially in the nice groover "Golden Serpents" or in the "Words On Paper" where a careful ear will sense elements that could have something in common with The Doors, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin in the first place, but still sounding very fresh when being enriched with kind of a shamanistic modern dark rock atmosphere. You might say that it's nothing that different than what their predecessors The Devil's Blood were doing, but still Dool try to be unique as much as possible and they succeed pretty well in this. Just listen to the very next, "In Her Darkest Hour", a haunting almost horror rock song with a stunningly captivating melody, and you'll get my point.
Before mentioned first single, "Oweynagat", is a dynamic nicely building up in atmosphere dark heavy rocker with some hidden post-rock elements that could bring in mind the alternative metal of Tool, but the song so perfectly progresses with thumping percussion and swirling lead guitar into some kind of a climax. The dark, ritualistic, trippy and doomy spacious "Alpha" is almost transcedental, or how emotive is the next one, "The Death Of Love", it offers a bit proggy, but persuasive and fantastic guitar work, highly dynamic, very cohesive, with surrealistic ending. This sonic adventure ends with a bit more straight sparkling rocker "She-Goat".
In the end I can say only... Wow! These 50 minutes long sonic journey ends too soon and while emotionally it needs some time to recover from this shadowy fairy tale, the sound of Doll (Dutch for “wandering”) is a call to let oneself float freely and weather the storms of everyday life, taking flight into the wild unknown... all those who wander are Dool. Amazing and highly recommended, no matter what's your musical taste!
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 9/10
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
