BRAIN DEAD / ROT IN HELL
Millenial Psychosis Split
(Rumour Control)

FIGHT AMP
Hungry for Nothing
(Translation Loss)

INDIAN
Slights and Abuse / The Sycophant
(Seventh Rule)

CARDIAC ARREST
Life's a Dead End
(Grave Mistake / No Way)

THE CHANT
Ghostlines
(Shadow World)

ANIMUS MORTIS
Atrabilis (Residues From Verb
& Flesh) 

(Debemur Morti)

ZARACH 'BAAL' 
THARAGH
Eternal Darkness

(At War With False Noise)

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Been rocking out to this massive record for a while now.  But first, I am starting to feel at a loss for words when dealing with bands of this ilk; the genre in question being post rock. Yes, the one where everyone trudges forever, where being at a loss for vocals matters very little, where expansion apparently is what is all about, has been hip ever since Mogwai became everyday bread for the likes of Spin and Rolling Stone, since Isis’ Panopticon was chosen as one of the best records of its year by CNN and since Explosions in the Sky started being featured in soundtracks for American movies about American sports and inspirational messages.  So yeah, I ran out of things to say because most post rock records seem to come from the same place, because from a vantage point they all go run or crawl through the same peaks and valleys. The variation and distinction between post rock bands then depends on the band’s background, something that’s not necessarily perceptible by the listener.. It’s simple; if you are Isis, you come from metal and hardcore, and if you are Mogwai, then your roots may be mostly earthed in indie rock.

With France’s Dirge is just as simple; their music is heavy and that about says it all. Even when the record as its title reveals, becomes ‘dormant’, you can sense another wave of dense sound coming up next. And that’s your metal and your hardcore. The space between the volume is for thinking, for relaxing, for introspection. Now, the band has to get its shit together as far as getting their moniker up on the organic search space. Type in Dirge in MySpace and the second result is for another French band of the same name, then there is an English blues combo, a prog/gothic/rock Austin band, and a Wisconsin metal band going by the same exact name. Then there are your variations; Dirge for Wisdom, The Dirge, DirgeK, Mego Dirge.  All of which show up way ahead of the Dirge in question.

So as I hear it, Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas is the band’s fifth release. Formed in the City of Light in 1994, it seems to have taken this much time for the band to arrive to this sound. Apparently, their earlier work leans more towards the industrial sounds a la Godflesh, which brings up the question; is Dirge jumping on the bandwagon? I don’t know and I don’t care. Why? Because with a record this good, all that lateral shit becomes irrelevant. This five-songer is fantastic. Thick in sound and built around slow tempos, the songs are all aided by a very slick sense of craftsmanship. At times Dirge just indulges in the guitar and all the options that effects offer. Centerpiece “Epicenter” is drop dead gorgeous, a doom-like backdrop sustains the exhilarating sounds of psychedelic guitars. The vocals are just another instrument; when they show up nearly eleven minutes into “Epicenter” they come so gruff one could hallucinate we are either listening to Neurosis or a new less evil version of Celtic Frost. When considering everything that has been done in the post rock realm Dirge isn’t breaking new ground, but with music as good as the one contained in this album, they are just adding lots of fuel to the genre’s fire.

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