Album Review: DVNE – “Etemen Ænka” (2021)

Hello!

In the next review, I would like to tell you about the prog-metal band, with whose work I met quite recently. Although... attributing this music exclusively to one genre would not be entirely correct. All in all. This time my review is dedicated to the longplay of the metal band from Edinburgh Dvne, which was called “Etemen Ænka".

I have not had to listen to the releases of this team before, and now it seems that I have lost a lot. As a fan of not only heavy music, in particular progressive metal and complex structural compositions, I consider it a big omission that I have not found these musicians before. But now there is something new to listen to and I am glad of that.

As it turned out, many people intertwine Dvne's work with the early works of the famous mand Mastodon , and there is an explanation for this. If you disassemble the compositions piece by piece, you can clearly notice the influence of the aforementioned metalheads in the structure of the melodies. At first it may seem that this similarity is far-fetched, but gradually the "school" of Mastodon is felt more and more. No, Dvne do not copy ideas, they masterfully rework and improve them.

It is rather difficult to single out any tool here. The reason is simple - guitars, drums and keyboards sound so harmoniously and intertwined into a complex symphony that there is simply no need to listen to them individually. Every sound, every note - everything is in its place. Already from the opening composition, I realized that something cool and worthy of attention was waiting for me. And I listened with pleasure to the LP twice in a row, and then took a break and returned to the record again.

Here, even the not prominent vocal parts on "Etemen Ænka" deserve attention. They coolly complement and emphasize the dignity of the disc. You were probably surprised when I wrote that the vocals only complement the compositions, but this is exactly the way it is, because the vocalist's roars are simply buried in the powerful furious guitar riffs and the atmosphere of the keyboards, which are clearly distinguished here by the main part. However, pure emotional singing just fits harmoniously into the structure and really catches the ear.

I will not highlight compositions yet. There are cool songs here with a multi-layered and intricate construction, immediately clearly showing the listener the high level of Dvne's skill. And the transitions between the songs are atmospheric and stunningly fit into the entire musical narration called "Etemen Ænka".

Finally, I suggest listening to the entire album: