Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

DUST PROPHET - One Last Look Upon The Sky (Review)

1/28/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Written by: Continuous Thunder

What do early 20th-century serial killers, the Spanish Inquisition, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost have in common? Well, a few things, but in this particular instance, they partially inspire the first full-length album from Manchester, New Hampshire’s Dust Prophet, One Last Look Upon The Sky. Of course, these are all very dark and heavy subjects, but I can assure you that the band brings the musical heft to do them justice.

Indeed, a weighty and apocalyptic atmosphere permeates the entire album, from the ethereal and mysterious intro track, “A Storm of Time & Space Part 1,” to the crushing resolution of “Bury Me Before Noon.” And the essential ingredients, the waves that carry you from shore to shore on this journey, are the almighty riffs! Dust Prophet provides fuzz-laden, head-nodding vibes contrasted nicely with quieter, haunting passages. This dynamic range is exemplified on tracks like “When the Axe Falls” and “Bury Me Before Noon.” Furthermore, ambient touches and other clever arrangements by bassist and keyboardist Sarah Wappler truly elevate the compositions and set them apart. The appropriately titled “Song 4” is especially rewarding, with new layers and complexities revealing themselves through multiple listens.


Beyond the instrumentation, guitarist/vocalist Otto Kinzel’s voice plays a vital role in the overall package. Ranging from lamenting cleans to harsh growls and often layered in intriguing ways, Kinzel tailors his delivery to match the tone of both the instrumentals and the lyrics. For example, in the song “Dear Mrs. Budd,” most of the vocals are on the more aggressive side, but during a quieter moment in the second half of the song, a cleaner delivery is used with a slight effect and quieter, harsher doubling. Combined with the lyrics themselves, this vocal production gives this section of the song a strange and almost unsettling feel that complements the subject that inspired it. (No, seriously. “Dear Mrs. Budd” is inspired by serial killer Albert Fish and one of his victims and that is one of the most disturbing things I have ever looked up. An unsettling vibe is more than appropriate.)
​​
​While we’re on the subject of lyrical inspiration, I found it very interesting how religion was a unifying theme through the majority of the album, specifically Christianity and Christian mythology. “Put to the Question” and “The High Capital” are the most obvious with the former referencing how the Spanish Inquisition would torture confessions out of its victims and the latter being sung from the perspective of Satan after being cast out of heaven in
Paradise Lost. “Bury Me Before Noon” contains an incantation that is believed to open portals to hell and even the songs about serial killers contain a religious element. The Axeman of New Orleans, who inspired “When the Axe Falls,” referred to himself as a demon in hell’s service and Albert Fish experienced auditory hallucinations, believing his heinous acts and self-harm were instructions from God or other religious figures. I’m sure there’s a thesis in there somewhere about how Christianity and various atrocities are linked, but this is a music blog and we’re here to talk about riffs.
​

Now, if I’m completely honest with you, I do have to admit that the production can be a little rough in places. But I’m not going to bother highlighting the specifics because this is an independently produced debut and they ultimately don’t matter. The ideas on this album are so fully formed and well-executed that any minor production quirks are greatly overshadowed. This is a band that knows who they are and what they’re trying to do and they have the chops to make that a reality. One Last Look Upon The Sky implies and promises an apocalyptic experience, and Dust Prophet delivers with crushing riffs, powerful vocals, and mysterious little touches here and there that hold everything together. It’s a good album and Dust Prophet is a band to watch.

Dust Prophet - One Last Look Upon The Sky was released independently on January 27, 2023.
​Find it here!

About the Author: Continuous Thunder can be found on Twitter

Dust Prophet can be found:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    WELCOME!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that wakes us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry.


    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021

    Categories

    All
    Acid Rock
    Adventure
    A High Quality Death Metal Album
    Album Premiere
    Album Stream
    Alternative Rock
    Ambient
    Antifascist
    AOTY
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Blackened
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Thrash
    Black Metal
    Black 'n' Roll
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cinematic
    Classic Rock
    Cover Song
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Dark Ambient
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Demo
    Dissonant Death Metal
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doomviolence
    Drone
    Dungeon Synth
    Electronic
    Electronica
    EP
    Epic Metal
    Europower
    Experimental
    Extreme Metal
    Faery Synth
    Folk Metal
    Fresh Meat Friday
    From The Archives
    Goregrind
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Harsh Noise
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Indie Rock
    Industrial Metal
    Instrumental
    Interview
    Jazz
    Lists 2022
    Mathcore
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Metal
    Metallic Hardcore
    Metal Reviews
    Mini Reviews
    Music Video
    Noise
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Olde Reviews
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Pop Rock
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post-rock
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prog
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psych
    Punk
    Rap
    Raw Black Metal
    Release Day Roundup
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Reviews
    Reviews
    Rock
    Sci-fi
    Ska
    Skate Punk
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sludge
    Soundtrack
    Speed Metal
    Split Releases
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Stoner Thrash
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synthwave
    Thrash Metal
    Top 10
    Track Premiere
    Track Reviews
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Two Of A Perfect Pair
    USPM

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!