DYSTOPIA
Geen Weg Out
PRESS/STEPHANIE CABRAL
WOLVES OF HADES
Dutch black metallers range far beyond brass tacks
Dystopia’s follow-up to the expansive black metal of 2017’s Chaos Philosophorum is an even more ambitious affair. From the title (‘No Way Out’) to vocalist Dennis Onsia’s desperate howl, the record is a maze of mental anguish structured as three movements. Razernij: I moves organically from extreme tumult to the cosmically contemplative. Van De Meute Vervreemd: I slowly prepares for war, with swelling trumpet and trombone as other instruments stir, exploding in extreme frustration across parts II-IV. Such boldly prominent use of brass takes the Dutchmen’s progressive leanings and adds grandiose depth, underpinning chaos with a baritone swell that elevates it from a good black metal record to a coming-of-age must-listen.