Review Summary: Droom on!
I was intrigued, back in 2021, by the release of Dream Unending’s debut record,
Tide Turns Eternal, a self-professed “dream doom” release blending the heaviness and ferocity of death doom metal with gentler flavors such as shoegaze, psychedelia, and prog. The band’s 2022 sophomore effort,
Song of Salvation, captivated me even more, again demonstrating the group’s novel musical formula, while substantially upping the awesomeness of the results.
Since that time, I’ve become aware of another band exploring comparable musical terrain. Tideless are a San Diego collective, emerging from the death doom sphere but citing a list of influences heavy on the icons of shoegaze and prog (Slowdive and King Crimson among them). Don’t think of them as just a knock-off of Dream Unending’s promising take on this style, though - indeed, Tideless’ first foray into this brand of experimentation,
Adrift in Grief, came out in 2021 a few months
before the previously-referenced
Tide Turns Eternal. Now, with the release of Tideless’ second LP,
Eye of Water, I’m confident that ‘dream doom”, or “droom”, as I like to call it (I’m a funny guy), is on the path towards becoming a real movement in the contemporary metal scene.
If Tideless’ debut LP
Adrift in Grief was a strong effort with a lot of potential (it was), then
Eye of Water sees the band throwing caution to the wind, creating a sprawling record (around seventy-five minutes in total) while aiming to maximize both the heavier and softer aspects of their chosen sound. The results might be a bit too meandering for their own good on occasion, but this is an excellent album nonetheless, and a notable step up from the group’s initial attempt.
The aquatic themes of the band and album name are well-placed. Throughout
Eye of Water, despite its varied moments, an oceanic vibe permeates. Whether it is the storm-wracked cacophony in “Laurel of Victory” (the record’s most definitively “metal” track) or the soothingly lush tones of “Drowning (19° 40′ 49″ N, 99° 0′ 36″ W)” (fittingly, for this long-winded release, a near-seven minute instrumental intro), at all times, the listener feels like they are sailing the seas, whether those seas are tumultuous or serene. In most cases, within a given song, the weather report changes frequently (a good thing, given three of the album’s five tunes are between fourteen and twenty-five minutes in duration), flowing relatively seamlessly from sleek post-rock/shoegaze sections into lumbering doom segments bolstered by ghastly death growls.
Eye of Water is at its finest when all of these diverse influences strike at once - the period around the eight-and-a-half minute mark in “Fields at Dawn” in which the most pristine backdrop this side of
The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place is interrupted by lead vocalist Kyle Armendariz bellowing over suddenly soaring guitar leads stands as one of my favorite musical moments of the year - but throughout, the album remains engaging. Be prepared to commit your attention span for the long haul (after all, have I mentioned this is a seventy-five minute album built upon a foundation of doom metal, post-rock, and shoegaze?), but
Eye of Water is a wonderful take on what appears to be an emerging micro-genre. To paraphrase Steven Tyler, droom on!
