Album Review: Dispossessed - Dêmocide
Reviewed by Sam Jones
We’re trekking over to the United States this time and for Dispossessed’s new album: Dêmocide. Formed in 2014 out of Oregon, Dispossessed are described as a fusion of death and sludge metal, releasing their Besieged EP not long after forming though it would be another five years before they had their first full length work ready: Exanimate. Though they would release a Single, Makhnovshchina, in late 2022, nearly three full years would elapse before Dispossessed returned with any material. That brings us to here and now: primed for an October 3rd release date now signed on to Carbonized Records, this could be the band’s moment to stamp their name upon the metal consciousness. I was curious, I’d seen some good word about these guys across social media and so I took the plunge. This is Dêmocide.
When the first track exceeds ten minutes right off the bat you know you’re in for a ride. That said, the entire album consists of only four tracks and given the nature of the band’s sludge/doom and death metal its only natural for fans to speculate each track should be equally long in turn. Then again its good to note not every song here is as long. You have that massive opening track, but the band follow up with tracks two and three being shorter, more concise, comparatively speaking, giving us a breather after that huge piece. It also guarantees we aren’t going to be bombarded by massive tracks consecutively or feel like we need to take huge swallows of our course without processing what came before. Once that comedown is behind us, they have the chance to hit us with another ten minute epic as their closer; this is why album structure is integral to the listening experience for a poorly handled approach can negatively impact the audience’s capacity to take everything in.
The strength of the bass is not to be understated here; though the guitar tone and the reliance on the riff is here in force its the bass that’s driving their sound forth, and with basslines fat enough to warrant an ozempic injection. Then again I'd expect nothing less, for the band’s tone and pace is a dead crawl and therefore you need a grounding power to keep you invested in the band’s trudging, dilapidated soundscape. The mix has bolstered the bass by several degrees over and whilst it never conflicts with the guitar’s capacity to deliver riffs, you can audibly notice the encapsulating, blanketing nature the bass assumes. But its far from hard and arduous, which would otherwise result in a difficult listening experience, instead the bass takes on a velvetine, absorbing quality almost cushioning the weight the band drive home. This “padding” ensures the long tracks aren’t going to be an endurance test and lessen the pressure upon the senses, thus giving you freedom to appreciate the band in all aspects presented.
When one listens to this record, once you get to grips with how the band write their music, you’ll understand they’re not seeking anything explosive or outwardly declarative. What you feel at the start will be reciprocated completely by the very end; its like reading a horror story where the victim is already in the clutches of the monstrosity; its entirely driven by mood. But with a record championing this sludge/doom metal style, sporting a deathly mood as one found herein is recipe for success. Fans of extreme metal adore strong atmospheres and Dispossessed, only on their second album, have struck gold with this release, for though their instrumentation and vocals equally channel dismal tidings, the smaller pieces of the drum kit cite this cavernous din created is within an altogether greater, emptier space and, should one mute the band’s performance, they’d hear nothing but water falling from stalactites and unchallenged darkness. I think you could go into this record, not knowing the band are bringing guitars and bass and drums to the fray, and simply enjoy the record for its atmospheric quality.
The record doesn’t play with complexity in mind. When one hears these riffs they’re not going to be amazed at how many notes are played in that segment or what time signature Dispossessed enforce there, this is extreme metal for those looking to relinquish their IQ and abandon all modern sensibilities, firmly embracing unga-bunga mentality once more. The riffs are straightforward but that does not equal dull, for my attention with Dispossessed would not have persisted should that be the case. But we all know you can write and play simple riffs that do create lacklustre soundscapes; Dispossessed fortunately write music where this isn’t the case, and the motion they undertake is undeniably forward. No matter how slow or simplified the songwriting may appear at times you’ll know the band have the end in mind and thus their songwriting never stagnates, nor does it revolve round and again eternally without making some kind of impression. This record was never meant to be something one should analyse or pick apart but to be thrown on when you need something heavy, something strong enough to shift the dead weight of the day.
In conclusion, Dispossessed’s Dêmocide is a record that asks nothing of you and offers no questions nor answers that you might think regarding this release. It really is like wandering into a nightmare that’s already ongoing; it may not be everything that haunts your soul but it’s not going to cease anytime soon. Given its massive soundscape i was pleasantly surprised by how un-crushing it is. It clearly possesses enormous size and knows how to use its weight to its advantage, hurling monstrous riffs the size of mountains at you, but by implementing the bass within the instrumentation, and boosted through the mix, its allowed the band to strongly cushion the impact. Its therefore a more agreeable experience and, knowing there are just four tracks within, bookended with the lengthiest pieces whilst the centre consists easily digestible though equally pummelling performances, the album nicely wraps up without consuming too much time. Dispossessed could certainly write a longer album owing to how this style of extreme metal is approached but i love that they didn’t; they did what they felt was necessary and moved on, there’s no one moment where i felt they were milling round for long. I'd certainly recommend this record and, as October rears the corner and Spooky Season begins, this is a fine way to spend that time.
