Artist: Drift Into Black
Album: Patterns of Light
Label: Black Doomba Records
Release Date: 28/05/2021
We look at Drift Into Black‘s proggy, gothic doom metal offering Patterns of Light, released today on Black Doomba Records in partnership with Dewar PR.
For those who aren’t aware, DIB is a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Craig Rossi, who hails from Sayreville, New Jersey. This album does feature some guest musicians though with Rick Habeeb as a guitar guest on The Burial Gown and Patterns of Light Pt2, as well as featuring Paul LaPlaca on bass and Klemen Markelj on drums. Rossi formed the project in 2017, since which time he has released two other full-length albums and an EP. As stated, the project plays a blend of proggy gothic doom metal and European style melodic doom death, all with a synth base.
Do not let the album art fool you, this is a beautiful piece of music. When I first saw it my mind went straight to death metal or deathcore, but that may have just been me. Much to my pleasure the album turned out to be a well written, highly atmospheric offering of doom. At times, the album’s sound reminds me of later career My Dying Bride meeting My Silent Wake and Saturnus. However, at other times it has more of a proggy gothic feel to it, particularly with the back and forth between clean vocals and harsh vocals, which actually brings to mind Opeth at many points on the release.
The guitar work is probably my favourite element on the album, it’s not overly heavy or complex, but it is extremely well written and performed. There is quite a bit of variety worked in there so that it never gets dull as some doom death releases can, but that is thanks to the proggy elements on the release. On top of that the guitar tone for the most part containing a tonne of emotion, a trait I have always appreciated about the genre. The synth elements completely re-enforce any and all emotion created by the guitar work, really adding a tonne of depth and gothic energy to the overall sound of the release. The hauntingly sung vocal melodies layered into the background of the music continue to expand this atmosphere. The bass and drum work on the release are both solid but they’re not the stars of the album, this title is reserved for the guitar, vocals and synth on this particular release.
As with many prog influenced albums, this release has an underlying theme and concept to it. The album tells a story of loss and grief, religion and revenge and even has a plot twist or two. This is just icing on the cake for an album that is already interesting and engaging based solely on its song writing and musical merits. For those of you who enjoy your music with substance and depth, let this be one more reason to give the album a listen.
Before I wrap up, I do have to make one comment though on how strange of a track Thread of Hope is in the context of the album as a whole. It has almost a dancy disco tone to it and a truly upbeat energy. It’s not a bad track by any means, it just feels a little odd when you look at the songs that come before and after it, especially considering that the following song Her Voice From Beyond is easily on of the heaviest and darkest on the album. You will have to see what you think when you listen to the album, maybe you’ll love it.
Overall, this was a solid release from a project that I wasn’t familiar with until now. I’m happy to say that Rossi has a new fan here and that I will be checking out all future work he puts out. If you enjoy doom death or proggy gothic metal then this is definitely going to be something that you enjoy, so give it a spin today.
Listen to and order the album:
Bandcamp:
