A massive new album release from DÖ delivers a massive sonic drive that comes along with a huge vastness in its undertone, and this is due to not only the guitar tones that are used but also the riffs that are played because this record blends elements of melodic metal, alternative rock, heavy-handed doom rock, and even some stoner rock in there alone.
The Unversum album is built with this outstanding sort of aggression in its underbelly and a top that lays this expansive and melodic approach that bears similarities to classic late '70s and early '80s doom metal bands but also incorporates loads of other influences as well as an intense set of songwriting approaches.
I really can't express enough how awesome the guitar work is across this record and how they put a lot of thought into the detail and how the songs were actually built and put together, but it still never loses that sort of personality or intensity along the way.
There are elements of this record that make me feel like some of these songs or all of them, were recorded live on the floor at least to an extent and that the players that were involved were just feeding off of each other's energies the entire time giving the songs this massive, alive and breathing sort of feel.
This stuff is played in some kind of drop tuning giving it a really deep tone and the drumming is just gigantic. It helps everything push forward so that it reaches a certain plateau, and this is something that also adds to that live performance kind of feel and the overall impact of the record soundscape.
The cool thing about this record is that it's spacious. It's not just metal, it's not just doom or heavy rock, it's got all these different things put together, but it also has that almost cinematic, that's the songs come through packing a heavy-handed punch but also with memorable hooks and guitar sections, all these things that stick with you for hours after the songs have ended.
What's amazing to me is how they pin down this crazy tone throughout the whole record and how everyone in the band really feels like they're connected musically. Even the bass guitar tone is super on point and doesn't only add a rumbling depth to the songs, but it also follows a lot of the best guitar riffs on the record and adds another layer of texture to the songs that help them really come through feeling thick.
Again, this is quite an intense record and there are elements of other kinds of metal involved like even a sort of dark death metal tone at times but not a lot. It's just hinted back and forth. The vocals are shredding and fierce but that's a good thing because it matches the energy of the band the whole time so there's nothing that really takes away from these songs.
You can tell this is done by a band that has a real love for their craft and when I say that I don't just mean playing their instruments or singing, I mean writing songs together they come through with a massive sonic push and that has a way of sort of shaking the ground beneath your feet.
There's definitely something to be said about a record that you should be listening to from beginning to end like this one. You can listen to one or two songs and still get a gist of what's to come but it doesn't give you the full spectrum of what the album has to offer as a whole and that's important.
This record is like an escape. It's more of an experience than just an album especially if you listen to the whole thing. It can really pull you away from wherever you are whatever you're doing and put you in this whole different atmosphere and I think that's an incredible thing for any band to pull off.
This was a massive opus of a doom metal record and not a single song is lacking in any area so if you are someone who loves just gigantic and intense riffs, guitar tones, and live band energy that's just infectious, then this record is 100% for you all the way through.
Most certainly take a listen to this record and do it loud or do it with headphones on. Either way you need to soak in the high-octane kind of sound that this gives off properly.
Remember where you heard it first.
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