Dwelling Below -Dwelling Below Review

I don’t know what exactly it is that’s Dwelling Below, but if it’s anything like whatever the cover art is depicting then I’m afraid. Beneath the surface, the music of this debut self-titled also lends itself to feelings of unease and apprehension. Formed from members of Acausal Intrusion, Hollowed Idols, and Sermon of Rot, Dwelling Below lurks in the dark and viscous slime of doomy blackened death. Where cavernous bellows resonate over slippery sinister riffage, whining guitar lines slide in and out of the gnashing, grinding chords, and bass drum rumbles with ominous severity. Combining the brutish sludginess of the ugliest of death-doom, and the hostile discordance of extreme metal’s dissonant side, Dwelling Below is about as heavy as it gets. Its mad art and pedigree calls, so let’s dive in.

Across just four songs, Dwelling Below makes good on its portentous promise. That weird synth that opens “Attraction Vulgarity” begins and I’m already afraid. And the repeating patterns of creeping scales and sudden descents from cacophonous blackened death into crawling doom that follow for the next 37 minutes continue this omnipresent feeling of unease. The particular style of gurgling bellows, cavernously echoing alongside lurching guitar, ringing with dissonance frequently recalls Defacement (“Attraction Vulgarity”), while the snakelike solos and general malevolent aura are reminiscent of Qrixkuor (“Swallowed,” “Sheltered Acceptance”). There’s also plenty of high-strung string manipulation and anxiety-inducing technicality you might expect from the affiliated Acausal Intrusion (“Emergence Sublimation”). These elements come together quite magnificently (by which I of course mean horrifyingly). Naturally slipping from speed to slowness, and from eerie—almost melodious—refrain to densely clustered mania.

Dwelling Below really succeed in crafting songs that feel coherent and parsable whilst still being chaotic, unconventional, and inaccessible. We’re not talking verse-chorus-verse here of course, but the songs each have a somewhat cyclical structure that gives you something to cling onto amidst the snafu. All songs revolve around several central patterns or theme, whether that’s a series of low panic chords (“Swallowed”); a chilling guitar descent (“Emergence Sublimation,” “Sheltered Acceptance”); or returning skids into a ringing, d-beat charge (“Attraction Vulgarity”). The music’s overall unfriendliness causes the rare moments of true melody to break the surface with thrilling immediacy. From the high, churning guitar gradually rising in “Swallowed,” to the mournful descending tremolos in “Emergence Sublimation,” and the genuinely beautiful refrain that arises in “Sheltered Acceptance.” When the guitar solos come, their high pitch, and warped, psychedelic wobble has the effect of a mad cosmic snake twisting over the churning, cavernous depths—mesmerizing (“Attraction Vulgarity,” “Swallowed,” “Sheltered Acceptance”). The whine of feedback and the echo that haunts the beginnings and ends of tracks, likewise adds closure and cohesion, as well as atmosphere, to each piece.

Extreme metal always treads the line between sufficiently intense and too overwhelming, and Dwelling Below gets this just right. It might be dissonant, and wonky, and creepy, but Dwelling Below know exactly when to pull out of the blastbeat spiral for some (equally unnerving) soloing (“Emergence Sublimation”), or haunting death-doom (“Sheltered Acceptance”). A slim 38 minutes, the album is a mad world you’ll gladly return to again and again. Yet while the whole is digestibly short, the songs feel just a bit too long than they ought to be, none dropping below eight minutes and three out of four exceeding nine. Their smooth internal transitions and gripping episodes make for a powerful force as a four. Divide the four songs into six, and these eerie specters would cast an even longer and darker shadow than they already do.

When extreme metal is good, it really makes you feel something. Dwelling Below makes me feel fear, which I believe may have been at least part of the intention. Dwelling Below’s practiced pasts are fully on display here. Its distorted themes, cavernous atmospheres, and satisfying, stomach-churning technicalities also make it very fun to listen to. Even if you are looking over your shoulder while you do so.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Website: dwellingbelow.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: December 8th, 2023