EMERGENCE

The Eclectic Prog band Dreadnought (not to be confused with Dreadnaught, another Eclectic Prog band) was formed in 2012 in Colorado by Kelly Schilling on vocals, guitar, and flute; Jordan Clancy on drums and saxophones; Kevin Handlon on bass and mandolin; and Lauren Viera on keys and vocals. The album "Emergence" is the bands 4th full length album released in May of 2019. It consists of 5 tracks spanning a total run time of over 46 minutes, 3 of those tracks are over the 10 minute mark. The album is available on Bandcamp for download, CD and vinyl. The basic premise for the album has to do with the destructive and cleansing power of fire, how it causes death yet creates new life from the ashes it leaves behind, and how that all ties into the human condition.

"Besieged" begins heavy dark with mysterious sounding vocals, a bit subdued, and then suddenly screaming. While the background continues to churn along, the vocals change back to subdued and harmonized vocals, then everything cools off a bit as everything slows, but remains dark. Powerful progressive riffs bring everything back to a heavy sound with dampened keys and more harmonized vocals return, more screaming later and then more dampened piano. It's an effective style to match the growing and shrinking of flame, but the undercurrent of the track gives one a feeling of a constant threat. As the song flows into the next track "Still", it calms but becomes quite foreboding and atmospheric, bringing on an almost mourning feeling. The sax gives the mournful atmosphere and soon sad vocals work to keep this track dark as the instruments give one the feeling of destruction in this transitory, yet important track.

"Pestilent" starts with the drums crashing in, bringing in a guitar heavy darkness. Clean vocals begin again, staying somewhat subdued as they have been through most of the album. The heavy riffs contrast with the female vocals when they are clean, but you always expect the vocals to go dirty, which they do many times. Minor key harmonics keep the feeling ominous. After 3 minutes, things lighten up a little, but dark sax and flute remind you of destruction and death. The music isn't what I would call complete doom metal, but it is very close sharing aspects of the genre, but also mixing in aspects of shoegaze. But it also has a lot of variation in the dynamics, but the tone stays somber and dark. More harmonized clean vocals and more screaming vocals come and go. The piano still shows through, but is also mixed to remove a lot of the brightness of the piano so that it sounds right at home with the dark and sometimes heavy guitars. Things intensify for a while, then suddenly soften as a somber guitar solo plays. After 10 minutes, things get really intense and heavy and screaming vocals take over until the end at over 12 minutes.

"Tempered" signifies the use of fire to create and strengthen metal tools. The dark heaviness continues, with a faster tempo and the use of occasional keys giving a piano and organ effect amidst the wall of guitar noise. Clean and dirty vocals are used slipping from one to the other. Dissonant harmonies are also used. Just before the 5 minute mark, the intensity wanes a bit and the vocals get a slight gothic and hazy feel to them. Guitars come back in full force after 6 minutes. Churning doom style guitars are accented by piano chords and screaming vocals, then a screeching sax and flute join in, turning it into a boiling cauldron of sound. As it all comes to an end, though, things soften and lead into the next track.

"The Waking Realm" reflects upon the new life that a fire can create in nature. It starts off quite atmospheric and pensive, utilizing hazy, but clean vocals and softer, hesitant instrumentation. Dissonance and unclarity are rampant in this somewhat minimal track, but a slow, thumping drum and crashing cymbals finally call up a steady, almost jazz-like rhythm with dampened piano and vocals playing over the top it all. More guitar and bass come in, intensifying things a little, but still keeping restrained. Finally, after 6 minutes, the guitars and frantic drumming kick up the heaviness. Clean and harmonized vocals continue, still retaining their subdued and hazy feel that they have retained through the entire album, sounding almost like a very heavy version of "The Cocteau Twins", even with a slight goth and shoegaze feel to it, with the attitude of doom metal. Just before 10 minutes, things quiet down again with a soft guitar and soft vocals. The drums bring in one of the heaviest passages of the album with a wall of guitar and screaming towards the last part of this track as life comes back with a vengeance.

This is a surprisingly heavy and dark album with a lot of dynamic, but it tends to lean on the loud and heavy side of things more than anything else. The mix of tones in the dual female vocals are a very important sound in this album, even though they stay a bit fuzzy and subdued, they still leave quite an impact. The heavy guitars tend to bring dual styles of doom metal and shoegaze, while the keys struggle to bring a little brightness to it all, but they are always kept dampened, yet they are almost always there. There are some nice surprises throughout too, with the addition of sax and flute which are added without feeling strange and alien to the music, and the addition of some jazz elements scattered around. Make no mistake though, this album is dark and heavy, always feeling like there is a layer of ash and smoke hanging around. The music definitely fits the concept idea of the album, and this can tend to be a bit depressing, but the music is effective in conveying it's concept. The genre this band is under is eclectic, but it tends to sound more like Post Metal at times with it's heaviness and forays into doom and goth styles. Overall, it is an interesting combination of styles, which I guess in the end is what makes it Eclectic.

If you will need it really aggressive some time, DREADNOUGHT makes sense, is worth getting close to, absolutely. They are powerful, emotional, they are loud. They are a pretty tough issue. Just take the partially harsh vocals, actually not my passion. Though attention, come what may, they also are gifted with sense of real beauty and atmosphere. This due to a thoroughly melancholic approach they are serving over and over. That special mix makes them attractive for me in the end, at least when it comes to this album, which was released in 2019. The two female musicians, Kelly Schilling (guitar, vocals) as well as Lauren Vieira, (keyboards, vocals) are taking an, if not THE important role, I'm inclined to argue. Furthermore the experienced rhythm branch again is comprised of drummer Jordan Clancy and Kevin Handlon (bass).

I would say, concerning the approach, the band Helium Horse Fly from Belgium are a proper reference too. Here on 'Emergence' they are offering roundabout 50 minutes playing time, divided in five songs. DREADNOUGHT are focussing on a gripping and diversified flow, at least three tracks are crossing the ten minute mark hereby. There's a dominant post metal ambiance to state. But, due to some piano, mandolin and wind instrument input here and there, the sound is not reduced to that alone. Just take the hilarious Still, short, doomy, simply kind of amazing. Shredding guitar riffs follow on Tempered. The album's centerpiece The Waking Realm then makes my day. Eclectic, tricky. Finally the symbiosis of neat (Lauren) and harsh (Kelly) vocals. Now reaching the verdict: this one is quite an excellent band effort.

Like any metal subgenre, doom metal has an abundance of sub-subgenres, including stoner-doom, death-doom, and funeral doom. Prog-doom, to my disappointment, is one of the less-proliferated of these, even when put in the context of progressive metal. Other prog varietals?like black, sludge, and death?far outstrip progressive doom in both volume and prominence. Of the rather small cohort of bands who do fuse the murky, morose field of doom with the artistry and ambition of prog, Dreadnought are at the forefront.

Emergence is the fourth full-length release from this Colorado quartet, and it's a logical progression from their last release, 2017's A Wake in Sacred Waves. AWISW was among my favorite albums from that year, so this was a highly, highly anticipated release for me. I'm pleased to say it lived up to my hopes and exceeded my expectations. The sound on this album is massive?far more imposing than would be expected of four musicians. The guitar attacks in thick walls of guttural distortion, while the piano thunders and adds a certain weightiness rarely heard in metal.

"Besieged" sets the tone without hesitation. The verses feature gentle, almost pastoral vocals and piano set against growling, churning guitars. This contrast of delicate and harsh is a cornerstone of Dreadnought's sound, but it's not the sole component.  Vocalist Kelly Schilling can let loose with shrieks to rival the best during the heaviest moments, and there is no shortage of clean, jazzy and folky interludes. "Still", the second track, is one such interlude, which features an ominous atmosphere augmented by flute (provided by Schilling) and saxophone (played by drummer Jordan Clancy). Such a short song doesn't try to do too much, but it fits into the flow of everything, building tension and cultivating a menacing aura.

Following that interlude, "Pestilent" opens with pummeling drums and more enveloping guitar. Harmonized vocals add a hint of folk influence, while an aqueous synthesizer fleshes out the overall sound. Flute and sax emerge once more in a calmer moment, and the flute line imparts an Indian feel in its melody. The song's middle is calmer: the tempo is slower, and distortion is minimized for a spell. The tail end of "Pestilent" shows just how effective piano can be in a metal setting. In most metal bands, the instrument seems to largely be relegated to saccharine ballads; but in Dreadnought, keyboardist Lauren Vieira uses the instrument's bass register to add another layer of percussive impact.

Emergence ends on its most dynamic track. Fittingly, "The Waking Realm" opens calmly, as if first rousing from sleep. Lush guitar and synth are complemented by the occasional flash of saxophone as an insistent bassline keeps the music from aimlessly floating. When the drums eventually come in, it's a skittering, jazzy pattern that feels urgent but restrained. It's not until the halfway point that distortion arrives and this becomes a metal song. Even then, it's not some sudden cliff-edge of intensity, but a gradual, gliding ascent. This song continues to build, with the occasional contrastive ebb: rolling inevitably forward, growing into a crushing, distorted frenzy.

Dreadnought released their best album yet with Emergence. It takes all the strengths of their previous releases and matures and focuses them, resulting in a lean, powerful, impactful, emotive release that brims with the intensity of doom metal and the ambition of prog.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/06/09/album-review-dreadnought-emergence/