Band : Dirge
Album Title : Elysian Magnetic Fields
Label : Division Records
Distributor : Clearspot
Release Date : 2011
Review : CD

Dirge is a six-piece post metal band from Paris, France. They have been around in some form since 1994 and released five albums so far..

Spanning eight tracks and running for 66 minutes, fans of apocalyptic post metal mongers like Neurosis, Rosetta, Jesu, Swans, even Front 242 and the like will become enthralled with this outfit's mammoth output. The album doesn't rely on outrageous time signatures, but rather lays down a buzz and either doubles or halves the tempo to keep the song rolling along. Elysian Magnetic Fields  is grim, bleak, desolate, distorted, sombre, slow yet sufficiently varied in pace and arrangements. The band's distinct wall of sound is built upon the foundations of slow claustrophobic post rock with traces of filthy guitar sections rearing its ugly head throughout. Further in, the music takes on the hue of a Eraserheador Tetsuosoundtrack; psychedelic drones, resonant feedbacks and electronic effects merging into a potent nightmare experience and it won't let you go until the dark ambient outro fades into nothingness.

For the casual listener, however, there might be problems - the songs can often sound the same, so people who are not fervent fans of this style could be put off.

90/100

Cosmicmasseur.