Dreamless Veil - Every Limb of the Flood

Angry Metal Guy 60

The supergroups of today’s widespread niche metal scenes look very different than the power collaborations that came before them. Once a result of prominent groups with big personalities that needed side expressions—like the punk-born MegaDave offshoot of MD.45 or Cavelera industrial conspiracy of Nailbomb—these kinds of acts came about less of intense creative need and more of freedom of available time and ideas. Really, that’s a long way of saying that the primary driving force behind these typically well-enough received by-products is not the same hunger that earned the primary incarnation its pedestal in the first place. So what then when the underground begins spawning permutations of its own outré offerings? Dan Gargiulo, once of a celebrated period for Revocation and a leading force for Artificial Brain, finds himself at the nexus of one such budding—Dreamless Veil. Assembled with now bandmate Mike Paparo (Inter Arma, Artificial Brain) and Psycroptic kitsmasher Dave Haley, can these friends, all top-tier performers, implement the supergroup form honestly?

Born not just of friendship and the urge to unleash artistic energy, both Gargiulo and Paparo suffered isolation together as roommates in the early days of pandemic reculsion, which thrust Dreamless Veil and Every Limb of the Flood into existence. Ever the busybody, Gargiulo stood at the ready with a bevy of riff structures in his trademarked expressive and sullen style. Much of what presents throughout Every Limb wouldn’t have sounded out of place as a companion to the heavily blackened sway of Artificial Brain’s 2017 release Infrared Horizon with “Dim Golden Rave” and “Cyanide Mine” falling right into that specific lane of space-frosted drama. And alongside dramatic and precise tremolo runs that clash about with a classic energy that recalls the progressive tendencies of an act like Diabolical Masquerade, Paparo’s kvlt-reverbed wail and Haley’s kick and blast beatings drill an equally bleeding and machine-like fervor into Every Limb’s most extreme passages (“Saturnism,” “Every Limb of the Flood,” “Dreamless”).

Every Limb of the Flood by Dreamless Veil

Despite the unquestionable proficiency of Dreamless Veil’s execution, it’s difficult to pin its highlights against the dense and textural choices that fill every second of space. Structurally, each song flows through verses, choruses, wonky modulations of already triumphant themes, and a recapitulation of each that almost always finds resolution in some form of fadeout, which renders the end of each statement a wash. As the lyricist and main mind for the actual story of Every Limb, a concept that follows a central character throughout its personal decay of mind and spirit, Paparo comes closest to filling the highlight reel with tortured wails and pathos-drenched cries (“Saturnism,” “Every Limb…”) that bely his door-smashing power that propels riff-weighted intros and escalations (“The Stirring of Flies,” “Dreamless”). But the backdrop as a continued stream of blistering, histrionic melodies and terraced counterpoints does little to differentiate the platform on which Paparo spills his devouring tale.

Yet that same quality which threatens to blend Dreamless Veil’s ideas into an intangible black mass also provides Every Limb with a compelling, tonally interesting environment. Gargiulo has shown his guitar prowess plenty in past projects, and all the same his subtle shifts in attack through recurring melodies—dreamy reverb excursions (“Dim Golden Rave,” “A Generation of Eyes”), tempo-jostled swinging time signatures (“The Stirring…,” “Cyanide Mine”), and a persistent dissonant lurch. And though packing these smart techniques in layers and layers of guitar, nary a solo nor flamboyant fill exists at any point of Every Limb. A carefully carved tone—a beauty on any listening device I have—and a cinematic drama carries the weight of each composition’s interest. None of this makes specific moments any easier to identify, but each adds up to Every Limb being a sonically pleasing experience worth returning to for ear candy alone.

Whether Dreamless Veil will be a one-off spurt of ideas tested, realized, and fulfilled matters little in the face of its simple success. As a concept album, its narrative isn’t wholly clear, but the forlorn spectacle that accompanies its reeling performances ensures that one at least feels the goal of dissolution for which it aims. Though Every Limb of the Flood fits neatly into a black metal box—almost too clean and curated in total package—its aspirations are more than kvltish khaos and confessional depressive monologue. And while Every Limb may not be the pinnacle of what a band that aims this high could offer in the world of storyboard sonic excess, its snappy and satisfying run remains difficult to disregard.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Relapse Records | Bandcamp
Websites: dreamlessveil.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/dreamlessveil
Releases Worldwide: September 20th, 2024

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