Album Review: Façade – The Eternal Dance (Self Released)

Façade is a Dutch doom metal band formed in 2011 by Ben de Graaff (Night of Suicide, Phlebotomized) and Korijn van Golen (Onheil). Chris Harmsen was introduced to the band by former guitarist Ghislain van der Stel after he announced his leave, and joined Façade in November 2016.

In 2017 they released their self-published, full-length album ‘Loathe’ which was a well received debut. Early 2019 Façade recorded a cover of Officium Triste’s ‘This Inner Twist’ which is featured on their compilation album ‘Born to Lose, Doomed to Die’ to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Officium Triste.

Now on November 29th 2019 Façade is releasing a new full-length titled ‘The Eternal Dance’.

The Eternal Dance is a concept album about cycles. It features the Hindu goddess Kali on the cover, who’s role in mythology is that of both a mother goddess as well as a bringer of destruction.

Five tracks long and coming in at around 54 minutes. That’s nearly an hour’s worth of doom, something that is both immediately exciting and immediately challenging.

Are you up to it?

It’s a challenge well worth meeting as Façade‘s brand is quite unique while not straying from the path set out by doom over the years. The booming depths are all there, the ringing riffs, chuggy bass, impacting drum beats and guttural vocals. However, sitting alongside all of that is a kind of post sound that really opens up the album, most notably on the first track, Unmade.

It’s a uniquely interesting piece of music.

The shortest track on the album at (just) 7 and a half minutes is also the most mellow-driven of the bunch. Although it does increasing the volume as we reach the end for a very powerful finish.

Ego though…what a track. The mind-blowing guitar chug, the tempo shifts, the passionate vocal performance… this is pure class. An epic that bleeds wonder and amazement as it evolves and changes before your very eyes and never stops surprising.

Continuing to showcase that stunning mix of post-like melodies and hefty doom, Death is all kinds of good. The abject sorrow that will be felt as the track goes so quiet is like nothing heard anywhere else on this album.

Finally a modern doom masterpiece wraps up with Moksha. A sobering and lengthy spoken word segment talks of the state of nothingness while dark melody plays out over it. The feeling of emptiness grows before Façade erupt into a stunning bout of heaviness. Amazing.

Façade – The Eternal Dance Full Track Listing:

1. Unmade
2. Mask
3. Ego
4. Death
5. Moksha

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook