Something of a cult band, although established in 1993, the current iteration of Wisconsin-based death/doom act Dusk has only been around since 2015 – unfortunate timing given the enforced hiatus of the pandemic that followed hot on the heels of their reformation. However, the wait has been worth it, for the band have unleashed an impressive offering indeed with Dissolve Into Ash. Actually released late in December 2023, the album very nearly passed us by, but we’re glad it didn’t, because it’s one hell of an impressively journey into a dark, gothic realm.
Opening with the coruscating riffs of Beacon Obscured, Dusk adopt a similar, if darker, posture to Paradise Lost’s Gothic, neatly juxtaposing clean female vocals (Dana Ignarski) with Steve Crane’s harrowing screams and sludgey bass lines. Yet, for all the weight, it’s a surprisingly nuanced sound the band have, with clear separation between the instruments (including eerie synths), and yet still with plenty of crunch in the guitars. It makes for an incredibly compelling opening number, and it sets a high bar for the rest of the album. The band offer little respite before plunging into the grim horrors of The Dim Divide, all stabbing riffs and guttural roars, savagely underpinned by Sean Smith’s frequently exceptional work behind the drum kit. However, before you get too comfortable, the band take the opportunity to head down a dark passage, where synths are allowed more space to roam, while the pared back guitars offer texture rather than weight. Meanwhile, there’s a certain earthen beauty to the closing bars that provides impressive contrast to the churning follow up. Titled Ancient Passage, it’s a taut, dynamic piece, with stuttering guitars, harrowing screams, and a rich seam of synth running through its corrupted heart. The first half of the album concludes with the lengthy Libations Offered, a dark and stormy brew built around a churning riff that hides a ferocious groove. A track of monolithic, head-banging horror, it’s a slow-motion descent into madness and one of the album’s finest tracks.
While the tempo remains leaden, Sean’s work behind the kit continues to maintain a sense of dynamic on The Promise Passed. A quite exceptional drummer, his work elevates the track, leaving guitarists Steve Gross and Tim Beyer to weave their dense riffs into a thick wedge that batters against the listener’s skull. Again, however, the band keep things fluid, and an abrupt shift in tempo at around the three-minute mark sees things edge over to the deathly side of the sonic equation. Next up, Shrouded In Mist offers considerable scope, the band using the eight-minute runtime to further test the fringes of death and doom. Another album highlight, it’s as dry as bleached bones, the grinding bleakness threatening to overload the listener with a sense of primal horror. After queasy synths see it out, the punishing riffs of Dormant Formare come almost as a relief, snapping the listener back to the world, before the album concludes with the schizophrenic finale, An Aerial View. Offering an initially beautiful coda, the opening passages provide a remarkable moment of ethereal wonder that seeks to wash away the darkness. While heavier elements, perhaps inevitably, emerge, they never plunge to the depths found elsewhere on the album, the weight repurposed here as catharsis, providing the record with an impressive finale.
Dissolve Into Ash is a dark, brooding monster of an album. While it exists primarily on the death/doom axis, Dusk are unafraid to let other elements seep into the mix, and the result is an album that has considerable dynamic – something greatly aided by the obvious skill of the musicians involved. It’s a dense work, best heard as a complete album, and clearly the product of great thought and care on the part of the band. Highly recommended, Dissolve Into Ash may take you to the gates of hell, but what a journey. 9/10
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