When an EP is presented, it’s easy to cast it off as a minor installment added to a band’s overall body of work. But Dirge composed four independent, uniquely structured tracks that makes their self-released, self-titled opus bigger and more complex than what the runtime would suggest.

Whether by design or happenstance, ‘Condemned,’ ‘Malignant,’ ‘Grief’ and ‘Hollow’ set the tone and the skeleton for the songs in which they house.

 

Progressively building up, ‘Condemned’ turns gloomy and fuzzy. Sludge-soaked harsh vocals work with ambling guitars that have weight and mass, but bubble just beneath the surface. The rhythm section feels held down in a breaking-loose-from-the-chains fashion.

‘Malignant’ continues Dirge’s doomy identity before crescendoing in the latter half like a sleeping beast that just sprang to life. (It may also have sprung this author to life after the track lulled into a din before erupting).

Initially whispered and hushed, ‘Grief’ devolves into a collapsing sonic wall. The melancholy is both apt and bolstering, and the interplay between doom and death metal hits the mark convincingly.

 

Finally, the somber minimalism of ‘Hollow’ fits effectively alongside a guiding riff and melody. The five-piece outfit based out of India spends less than nineteen minutes on the sophomore offering, but quite clearly get its point across. It’s messy, it’s vile.

 

When all is said and done, Dirge, armed with a foursome of compositions, devised a dearth of themes and unique machinations. In doing so, their EP exudes not threadbare songwriting, but dense and driven storytelling.

 

Buy the album here:

https://dirgeindia.bandcamp.com/album/dirge-2

 

7 / 10

MATT COOK