Die Verbannten Kinder Evas
Dusk And Void Became Alive
8.3
I’ve been mouthing off a bit lately about comfort zones, and how metalheads can relate to other types of music besides their cherished blast-beaten favorites, so a bite in the ass has been a long time coming. While listening to Dusk And Void Became Alive, the first and only album I’ve ever heard by Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, it became clear this most definitely wasn’t exactly the kind of music that would appeal to every reader of this site. Guided by new vocalist Christina Kroustali’s serene, operatic style, this project led by Richard Lederer of Summoning might not be even fractionally metal, but it does have a sort of epic vibe that many admirers of heavier music might be able to appreciate.
The first thing that stands out is how very sorrowful this album sounds without necessarily making an obvious attempt to push a mood or despondent feeling upon you, which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you need to cleanse your ear and don’t want to suffer through a complete mental readjustment in order to do so, this might be what you’re looking for. Dusk And Void… sounds unpretentious and isn’t overplayed. The balance between Lederer’s earthy vocal tones, richly textured synthesizers, Christina’s otherworldly range, and the overall depressive mood is easy to follow due to the compelling urgency of the material. The music sounds cinematic without the pompous dramatics, eloquent while lacking pretense.
Vocal arrangements are the most vital element to the success of the disc, as melodies flow with no flowery undertones, nor vulnerability, as strength and resolve glides through each track, even when the album is at its most demure. Nothing drones, drags or gets caught up in a mood and sails irretrievably into La-La Land, there is a definite focus and drive within these classically-inspired pieces, mixed with elements of doom similar to those so excellently displayed on the Dismantling Devotion album, by Daylight Dies. While it might not exactly be a disc to break out every day, Dusk And Void…would be a nice choice to reach for in case you’re bored with your current sophisticated doom or black metal library, and want to kick back on a dreary night with a little smoke, some strong bourbon, candles lit, lights out, and curtains open.
If graceful female vocals, terse piano segues, and an all-encompassing feeling of grief isn’t what you seek during your normal escapist moments, then this is surely not for you. Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is so entirely removed from, yet somehow thoroughly ‘metal’ in presentation and spirit, that they actually bring a unique sort of heaviness with them. Like a dirge during a winter funeral, or the ceremonial march of the lost or dejected, the lush instrumentation of Dusk And Void Became Alive is a draining, sometimes daunting but entirely rewarding experience when judged patiently, and with relaxed expectations of grandeur.
