One of the first reviews I ever wrote for MA was for their previous album (Solfernus’ Path). I’ll admit that it was a rather shallow review (well, we all have to start somewhere…), mainly pointing out that I really like the combination of the groovy metal with the gothic atmosphere and extremely well-done vocals of Nera. Then again, listening to that album again, there wasn’t really much more to say about it either. It’s basically Fear Factory in a gothic dress.
The interesting thing about Darzamat’s latest album here, A Philosopher At The End Of The Universe (great title btw, quite a mouthful though), is that it digs a lot deeper. Whereas they’d finally found their style on the previous album, with this new one Darzamat managed to spice things up and elaborate further. It didn’t necessarily have to be as aggressive as the predecessor, as long as the songwriting felt more intricate and more mature. ‘A Philosopher…’ isn’t exactly a fierce album and drastically cuts back on sheer speed and brutality. In return, Darzamat offers a dark undercurrent that is a lot stronger and more thought-out than the previous album.
Whereas ‘Solfernus’ Path’ was mostly built around pounding grooves, the flow on ‘A Philosopher…’ is the exact opposite. It’s no death metal-ish aggression from the get-go, the album builds up a lot slower. And I was about the add ‘and less intense’ to that last sentence, until I realized that would have been incorrect. All too often do ‘intensity’ and ‘aggression’ get confounded in a musical context. No, this isn’t a br00tal record, but I can assure you that ‘A Philosopher…’ has a very intense, almost personal, atmosphere. I’m really intrigued by, and drawn towards, the emotions and vibe portrayed throughout the album, as the appealing, somewhat melancholic, mystique maintains the listener’s focus. You’ll hear that already in the first real song (the title track btw) as it opens with a mellow melodic part, and throughout the (relatively slow) track we encounter multiple excellent hooks. Follow-up ‘Running In The Dark’ shows that this album indeed is going to be a lot more refined and multi-layered, courtesy of its excellent and catchy melodic main riff.
And just as with the previous album, also ‘A Philosopher…’ is carried by the commanding performance of female vocalist Nera, a role perfectly cast. Her (and I believe it’s a) mezzo-soprano voice really stands out, creates a great dynamic and delivers catchy hooks such as the energetic, memorable chorus in ‘Clouds, Clouds, Darkening All’, and the witchy, enigmatic vocals in ‘The Tearful Game’. There is a certain medieval beauty and spell-binding mystery to her voice, which functions as the glue that holds the flow of the album together.
The biggest difference with the previous full-length probably is that ‘A Philosopher…’ sounds a lot more like a complete album that is best enjoyed from start to finish. You could listen to a random track from ‘Solfernus’ Path’ and think “wow, what a banger” and it would already tell you a lot about the full release. However, picking out individual songs from ‘A Philosopher…’ and throwing them in some random compilation playlist won’t do much to be honest, and it certainly wouldn’t be representative of the album’s full palette. ‘A Philosopher…’ is the aural equivalent of sitting in a dark room with only a few candles lit as you silently ponder your place and worth in this gigantic cosmos, while we dwell through it on this tiny speck of dust. Those thoughts, those feelings you experience at that very moment have been transcribed by Darzamat into the soundtrack to your personal metaphysical journey.
Though not as powerful as its predecessor, with ‘A Philosopher…’ this band has put out an album with a very distinct character within their discography, which at the same time still feels and sounds like signature Darzamat. They managed to avoid the trap of simply rehashing the excellent formula of the previous album, instead dared to go beyond whilst staying true to their identity. It took them quite a few years to find it, but ever since they’re confidently developing all different sides of it. Not too many bands succeed in that.
In case this album is the last thing we’ll hear before the universe ends, at least we can all die satisfied.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=ChcAE4zdoGM
Official promo video: youtube.com/watch?v=bT6kPy_qXZc
