The vast majority of the time, it’s within the vast world of rock that instrumental acts tend to find a home in rather than in the world of metal. Something about rock is more appealing to instrumental acts out there, but there’s still so much potential in metal for instrumental acts that it’s almost criminal to not see it more fleshed out in the modern age. Slowly, however, it’s with bands like Dimwind that we see the largely unexplored landscape of instrumental metal slowly getting mapped out.
While many people look towards doom for most forms of psychedelia throughout the world of metal, it’s from the land of post-metal that we can absolutely find it in heaps so long as we are dealing with a band that knows what they’re doing and can deliver the style to us in a form that really pulls off many of the core aspects of what the style can become. Without question, Dimwind definitely did that and even a little bit more on their debut album, “Slow Wave Violence”. It’s right out of the gate that Dimwind makes an impression with their blend of post-rock and post-metal to create an overall listen that’s not only dynamic with its constantly shifting levels of heaviness and trippy atmospheres, but you can really feel the entire textures of each track changing from one minute to the next as “Slow Wave Violence” expertly never sits still for too long in order to provide the listener with a gripping experience that’s as diverse as it is stupendously satisfying. While my first initial thoughts felt like I should compare this performance to that of My Sleeping Karma but metal in some parts, that would be a grand disservice to what Dimwind has accomplished here as it is entirely their own with it acting autonomously without leaning on larger bands to make for a better sound or easier listen. Rather, it’s from the very beginning that “Slow Wave Violence” seeks to stand proud all on its own, and it succeeds gloriously in virtually every instance.
While I can only hope that the soundscape of instrumental metal will become more fleshed out in the coming years, bands like Dimwind will always give me hope that it will happen sooner rather than later and with albums like this that will constantly keep me coming back looking for more. “Slow Wave Violence” has so much to offer for anyone willing to drown themselves in all that Dimwind has to offer on their debut album, and we can only hope that it won’t be too long before a follow-up.
LISTEN to “Slow Wave Violence” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Dimwind on Facebook here.
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