Daxma - Unmarked Boxes

Angry Metal Guy

Back in 2019, for my first ever TYMHM post on this site, I chose to cover the ‘endearing small’ album,¹ Ruins upon Ruins, by Oakland, California’s Daxma. The band’s name, pronounced DOCK-ma, is the term for Zoroastrian⁠—the ancient, pre-Islamic religion of Iran⁠—funerary temples, also known as ‘Towers of Silence.’ This, perhaps gives some insight to the introspective, reflective type of post-metal which is the band’s stock in trade. Where Ruins based its first track loosely on the seminal critical theory work, Minima Moralia: Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben, by German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, Daxma‘s second full-length, Unmarked Boxes, drinks deep of 13th century Persian poet Rumi’s work of the same name. Is it a critical success?

The opening lines of Rumi’s poem on which the album is based are “Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” This reflection on loss and grief haunts Unmarked Boxes, as it moves through continent-sized post-metal riffs and rumbling bass—now handled by Isaac R. and Forrest H., with Kelly D., who handled bass on Ruins, having seemingly departed—to delicate, wistful key arrangements. Just as on Ruins, the addition of Jessica T.’s violin gives Daxma‘s sound a plaintive mournfulness, which is set alongside her and Isaac’s clean, almost ethereal vocals that sometimes weave their separate paths and others combine to grand effect (“Hiraeth”).

Unmarked Boxes by Daxma

An altogether more nuanced and subtle affair than Daxma‘s debut, The Head which becomes the Skull, this record clocks in just shy of an hour and yet its delicate progressions mean it never feels long. The shifts through YOB-like post-doom (“Anything You Lose”) and the lush melodies and pounding rhythms of Russian Circles (“The Clouds Parted”), to the ethereal ambience (“And the Earth Swallowed our Shadows) and folk-drone (“Saudade”) of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, give Unmarked Boxes a flow that carries it along. When Daxma do unleash—across parts of 13-minute epic and album highlight “Hiraeth,” as well as sporadically across closing duo “Anything You Lose” and “Comes Back in Another Form”—there is an almost symphonic grandeur to the post-metal release, as Jessica’s violin adds that edge and extra dimension to the fuzzed, crushing weight of the triple guitars.

Unmarked Boxes is an album that requires patience and attention to fully appreciate. Much like Driving Slow Motion, of which I am also a big fan, this is not an album of instant hooks or virtuoso solos. It’s a sprawling mood piece and works extremely well as such. Even the likes of the gorgeous “Saudade,” which I suppose one might term an interlude, demonstrate this, while the mountain-sized vision of album centerpiece “Hiraeth” repays in spades all time invested. The triple guitars give a rich, full tapestry of sound, underpinned by meaty work on the bass and another strong outing by drummer Thomas I. who finds ways to add complexity and show off his skill, even in the relatively restrained performance this record requires of him. Jessica and Isaac’s vocals are used too sparingly for my personal taste. Each brings a different style and, when deployed, add an extra dimension to Daxma. I love the all-enveloping quality of the production on Unmarked Boxes, with even the purely ambient moments or the acoustic opening to “Saudade” sounding full and balanced. The vocals are perhaps slightly too far back in the mix but I think this is a deliberate choice, casting the vocals as merely part of the instrumentation rather than making them a focal point.

Overall, I fear Daxma‘s slow-burn approach, with vocals spurned for much of the record’s 57-minute run, may slightly hold back the otherwise excellent Unmarked Boxes. I’ve had it in my grubby mitts for the best part of six weeks now and each time I return to it, it’s like a delicate, familiar embrace and I suddenly remember how damn good it is. While I am away from the album, however, it leaves me with an impression of brittle, crystalline beauty and emotional weight but only shadowy details. Overall, this is a case of a very good package, lacking slightly in standout moments and, while the length of Unmarked Boxes does not bother me because of the quality on show, a couple of truly memorable detours would push this album into exceptional territory.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings and Majestic Mountain Records
Websites: daxma.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/daxmaband
Releases Worldwide: November 19th, 2021

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