Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Riff Relevant recently shared the opening track “Alma” from French post-metal psychedelia explorers Dirge. I myself was not familiar with the band but was so impressed with the “song” that I’m now back with my own synopsis on the entire outing, ‘Alma | Baltica‘. The album was released via Division Records on December 15th and you can find purchase details here.
Now, if you will notice, I used quotation marks around the word “song” above and there is, of course, a reason for doing so. That reason being is I am not 100% content to refer to these compositions as songs, to be honest. What Dirge create is something far outside the rudimentary confines of what the word “song” implies.
The five items contained in this recording are the very embodiment of all the things we hope to relay when we use terms like psychedelic, ambient, atmospheric, and the like. To be sure, those descriptive applications are quite inadequate, falling terribly short from successfully implying what is the very essence of such a recording as this.
Instead, in more layman’s terms, what “Alma“, “Red Dawn Tibesti“, “Black Shore“, “Baltica (Sine Time Reoscillated)“, and “Pure” are is transcendental movements. Like phases, or perhaps periodic stops, along one much lengthier journey where the eventual destination is not really as important as that which is experienced on the trek
Epic, with massive scope, emotional flourishes, and all without unneeded words or verbalized intrusions. No, words do no good for something such as this recording, be they either on it or about it really. This is an experience in and of itself, one that must be undertaken by the individual themselves to begin to fathom the factual reality of it.
Do you dare?
