Review: REZN & Vinnum Sabbathi ‘Silent Future’
‘Entering Devils Courthouse Tunnel’ reads the sign as we drive. Born Into Catatonia has been playing its atmospheric drones and radio style spoken word layered on top. A fitting track to the curving roads 6,000 feet above sea level. The seamless transition into Unknown Ancestor carries us into the tunnel. The drums kick in as the song takes shape and the light floods the car as we exit the tunnel. We round the corner as the song picks up yet again seeing the rocky cliffs of Devils Courthouse to our left and this chilling experience was my first listen to REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi‘s new collaboration album Silent Future.
I’d like to touch on Unknown Ancestor a bit more. The spacey drones with a simple clean riff is amazing. It gives me vibes of Iceberg off REZN’s 2018 album Calm Black Water, but where Iceberg makes you feel as if you’re floating on water, Unknown Ancestors gives you the feeling of drifting through space.
The Cultigen is a short(er) track at just over three min in length. While Rob McWilliams vocals normally sit back in the mix a bit, they are pushed forward, and it forces you to focus on the beautiful melody and the fact that ‘black chrysanthemum’ is effortlessly worked into the lyrics.
Hypersurreal was the first single off the album which, while extremely difficult, I avoided until I heard the album in its entirety. I’m glad I did because this catchy song with its explosive beginning is a nice center point to the album. The change in lyrics between ‘You’re not alone’ to ‘I’m all alone’ is very powerful, which I find myself singing throughout the day.
There are clear moments when you can tell which band is contributing but the line is also blurred as both bands meld their signature sounds seamlessly…
Instrumental interludes are some of my favorite things on an album because it’s something you may skip streaming music but when you put on a record and listen all the way through, it’s those interludes that make the album feel whole and connected. Clusters is exactly that for Silent Future. The sci-fi soundscapes with more radio narration mixed in is the perfect segue from the beginning of the album to the grand conclusion which starts with Morphing. The appropriately named track morphs between calm and intense multiple times throughout. The sudden changes create powerful moments which concludes on the strong side, setting the listener up for a mind-blowing finale.
Obliterating Mists closes out the album and it is just as epic as the song title. A chilled-out intro is interrupted by a tense build-up just before the three min mark that lasts for a solid minute. Both REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi are masters of dynamics and it’s apparent on this track. The progressive build continues until it concludes with an intense dark fuzz that could be the sound of a black hole obliterating matter, which then fades out to the barely audible drones of beginning the album completing the cycle.
Silent Future isn’t a split but a true collaboration. There are clear moments when you can tell which band is contributing but the line is also blurred as both bands meld their signature sounds seamlessly. If I were ever asked which album I wish I had created, it would be Silent Future.
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
REZN: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Vinnum Sabbathi: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Josh Schneider
