Dool have spread their wings on album three
RALPH WALDO EMERSON once wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
This is the central idea behind the latest outing from Dutch voyagers Dool. Both sonically and thematically, The Shape Of Fluidity is a journey of defiance: a relentless pursuit of identity in the face of a society that demands conformity.
Fronted by vocalist Raven van Dorst, whose own experiences transcending gender binaries inform these themes, Dool’s latest represents a massive levelling up from 2020’s Summerland. Here they unspool a deeply affecting journey, using prog, postmetal, doom and other elements to question, to probe and to peer into the heart of the human condition. Revving the guitars up to full force, the album fuses classic metal riffs with the spectral echoes of 80s post-punk on tracks like Evil In You and opener Venus In Flames. Dool gradually layer pulsating riffs and kaleidoscopic melodies into surging prog tempos on Self-Dissect and Hermagorgon in a way that threatens to overwhelm, yet somehow coheres into a singular mesmerising vision.
Switching gears, tracks such as Currents and the title track brood with a quiet intensity, with Raven’s haunting vocals weaving spells of introspection and spiritual immersion. These tracks convey an unmistakable psychedelic dimension, painting cosmic textures with broad strokes of echo and reverb. Closer The Hand Of Creation wraps its spectral fingers around the listener, with dark gothic undertones and chilly, mid-tempo riffs that ensnare Raven’s impassioned delivery in a dance of light and shadow. As the world around us shifts and churns in the relentless tide of progress and recession, Dool’s latest serves as a beacon, a guiding light through the tumult. In a landscape starved for authenticity, The Shape Of Fluidity offers a feast. ■■■■■■■■■■
FOR FANS OF: Cult Of Luna, Tribulation, Royal Thunder
JOE DALY
DIVIDED