Dream Unending – Song Of Salvation

 

Dream Unending – Song Of Salvation
20 Buck Spin – 2022
Metal, Death, Doom, Psych, Prog, Ambient
Rated: ***

Back in 2021 the duo operating under the name Dream Unending released their debut effort Tide Turns Eternal and now, one year later, that two-piece returns with Song Of Salvation. It took only one year for Derrick Vella of Tomb Mold (guitar, 12 string guitar, bass) and Justin DeTore of Innumerable Forms (drums, vocals) to find out what worked on that first album and make it better. Those of you that follow the HiVe from time to time know that I’m not the biggest aficionado of the guttural vocals, but one must confess that much of the use of those on the new album Song Of Salvation do fit the moment. On the other hand, the more prog, ambient, and psychedelic moments seem to work even better. That hard edge, that grim take coupled with the serene prog of the yesteryear give it this dreamlike quality and offer as much in melancholy colors as it does for more hopeful attitudes. Which seem to come perfectly together in that final sixteen-minute-long track Ecstatic Reign. A hefty metal groove, that rides on the waves of a riff that sounds like the unending quality the duo is aiming for starts your journey and slowly churns away at the liquid, gradually turning it into the synth progression that offers the listener a joyful trance. Another highlight is without doubt the use of trumpet, especially in that second track Secret Grief, once again touching on something melancholic, mournful, and remorseful. Sometimes you feel Dream Unending might have tried to aim for and actually reached something that wasn’t even their ambition and sometimes it might sound like too ambitious. And whether you can hear where that statement is coming from or not, and whether you are a devotee or a reluctant for the guttural vocals, it’s evident Song Of Salvation is a step forward from Tide Turns Eternal and all we can hope for, is that there will be another next step, next year…

(Written by JK)

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