In my early
school years, I loved listening to the music of Saturnus, My Dying
Bride, Tristania, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Shape of Despair,
Tiamat, and many other artists from the Gothic/ Doom metal
genres.
Over the years, I seemed to have greatly outgrown these moods and
focused sharply on the various atmospheric and black metal
currents.
The dramatic and sometimes overly romantic focus of gothic metal
and doom lyrics somehow made me step back and look for other
inspirations from some point on.
There is a time for everything in this life, as the saying
goes.
However, something struck me the moment I saw Dominia’s album in
The Void’s mailbox.
Along with the news of the new My Dying Bride album before
Christmas, it was another sign that it might be time to dive
into melancholy, romantic and indulge in a slightly different
sensation for a bit.
Dominia is a Russian melodic death/ gothic
metal band, active since 1999, originally under the name
Tentamentum (until 2001).
The co-founders and until now an integral part of the band , are
vocalist, bassist and guitarist Anton Ross (God
Eat God, Voices of Grief, ex-Tentamentum, The Nameless Cult) and
Denis Sukharev (ex-Tentamentum, The Nameless Cult,
ex-Zlomrak), who takes on the rhythm guitars and backing
vocals.
In 2017, after many changes in the core of Dominia, the drummer
Oleg “Papa” Filistovich (Voices of Grief) joins the Dominia family,
followed two years later by the incredible violinist Michael
Morozkin.
The four also represent the current cast of Dominia, who worked on
the band’s latest, fifth full length title,
“The Withering of the Rose”, out on January 20th
this year through the Morning Star Heathens Music Group label.
Tracklist:
1. I Want to Forget 07:28
2. My Flesh and the Sacred River 5:36
3. Suprema 07:03
4. The Light of the Black Sun 6:01
5. Entombed in Grief 05:46
6. The Elephant Man 07:48
7. Nomoreus 7:10
8. The Withering of the Roses 6:58
9. The Night and the Dark Room 09:06
10. The Song That You Don’t Like 05:36
The melody of “I want to forget” reminds
me of the work of Cradle of Filth and their song
“Nymphetamine” somehow . The guitar riffs and the weight of the
drums combine fabulously with the violin and give the listener an
unforgettable experience, a beautiful and slightly mysterious
prelude to the second track of the album, “My Flesh And The
Sacred River”.
In it, Anton’s alternating clean and heavier death vocals create
magic with the senses, in addition to the delicate violin and
strong instrumental. A beautiful game between tenderness and
strength.
“Suprema” is a highly emotionally charged song,
reminiscent of the atmosphere of Katatonia tracks from my favorite
album “Viva Emptiness”, with, of course, many distinctive nuances
such as the beautiful guitar work and glowing vocal performance
that shape the band’s identity right from the start .
There are so many references to different styles and emotions in
the other 7 songs of the album that the whole album seems to me to
be an entire painting , crafted with mixed technique and several
layers of different textures.
The end result is more than intriguing.
In the seventh track of the album, “Nomoreus”, for
example, I hear ritual chants, clear doom vocals and
wonderful harsh black metal vocals, together with a crushing,
flowing heavy instrumental part, accompanied by the sweet violin’s
tunes at the end. Beauty.
Each song brings its own emotion and mood, different message and
emphasizes different elements, none of which is neglected in the
album.
“The Withering Of The Rose” is a true art – an emotionally charged and dynamic album, perfected and ready to take the listener to their own eerie atmosphere, right after the first note is played.
Favorite song from the album: “Nomoreus”
You can hear the premiere song from the album, “Suprema”, here:
Mother of THE VOID.
Underground music is the ultimate weapon against mediocrity.
