Dawn of Ouroboros – Bioluminescence

Dawn of Ouroboros is always a tricky band for me to review, not only because they tend to escape straightforward labels, but because everything they create is somewhat abstract and sensory. There isn’t an obvious message in the music, nor does it follow any straightforward structures. That may seem chaotic, maybe even a bit pointless, but somehow, every time I sit through one of their albums, it feels intuitive and coherent as a whole. Such is the case with their 3rd full length studio album, “Bioluminescence”.

Coming less than 2 years after the release of their previous record, “Bioluminescence” shows a clear step forward in musical proficiency and interesting composition, but it also keeps a lot of similarity to the band’s previous work, so for those familiar with them, this album will tick all the boxes you could expect. One of the biggest shock factors for me was their choice to remove any intro. Both previous albums showed interesting atmospheric build-ups, but on this one, the opening track jumps straight for the jugular with blast beats and screams from the first second.

In terms of drum performance, this is easily their craziest, fastest, and most chaotic album. The extremely tight performance combined with a somewhat primitive and raw sound makes for some absolutely relentless battering. Combining that with black metal riffs as well as snappy, progressive rhythmic shifts and Chelsea Murphy’s scarring vocal texture puts together a soundscape of sheer brutality.

Dawn of Ouroboros – Bioluminescence

But that’s not the only thing this band can do. Their magic is created through a fusion of the brutal with the beautiful. Soaring lead guitar sections and swirling solos, lush layers of synth and orchestrations, and hypnotic clean vocal layering wraps the primitive demon of riffs and screams into an otherworldly aesthetic. It feels natural, cathartic and uplifting, at least on the first half of the album. The lyrics create beautiful imagery, full of nature and mythology. The title track quite predictably describes bioluminescent waters, while ‘Poseidon’s Hymn’ combines maritime and mythological aesthetics and ‘Dueling Sunsets’ paints vivid multicolored pictures, both in descriptive lyrics and in soothing yet overwhelming layers of clean vocals and retro synth effects. It’s amazing how universally applicable their unique combination of raw and clear sound textures can be. While in the previously mentioned songs, it evokes imagery of open seas and underwater depths, on ‘Nebulae’ and ‘Slipping Burgundy’ it creates an incandescent landscape. The latter of the above also treats us with some superb upright bass parts in the intro.

Dawn of Ouroboros – Slipping Burgundy

In simple words, Dawn of Ouroboros is an outright mythical sensory experience. But after the halfway point, the album switches its tone from majestic to dreary and descending. ‘Static Repetition’ is all about the numbing sense of travel and urban routine. Then ‘Fragile Tranquility’ deals with the loss of peace of mind, inevitability of change and self fulfilling prophecies. As the album reaches its close, it gets increasingly frantic and chaotic, making use of the most intense rhythmic acrobatics as well as the most cathartic vocal sections. Then, the outro, ‘Mournful Ambience’, sinks into a heavy, exhausted mood, bringing the journey to a close.

Dawn of Ouroboros – Dueling Sunsets

It’s hard to tell what exactly each song means, or what the main takeaway from this album should be. In fact, I don’t even think there is a main point to it. It’s all experience. Each song creates different images and sensations and the listener is free to assign whatever meaning they choose to the songs. Or you can even leave all behind the interpretations behind, and just give your full attention to the composition and technical proficiency of these astounding musicians. And from that perspective, this album is an absolute cornucopia of skill, intricacy and detail. So if you’ve been reading this far, then I strongly encourage you to plunge into the depths, and experience the full spectrum of sonic sensations that is “Bioluminescence”.

Track List:

1. Bioluminescence (05:07)
2. Nebulae (04:57)
3. Slipping Burgundy (07:38)
4. Poseidon’s Hymn (04:33)
5. Dueling Sunsets (05:43)
6. Static Repetition (05:29)
7. Fragile Tranquility (06:43)
8. Mournful Ambience (03:11)