Alright, let’s get something out of the way: when I read that Fourth Dominion was a “Deathwave” band, I asked myself, “What the fudge is that?” and proceeded to complain to my latest underpaid intern about how every band wants to have its own label these days. However, the intern convinced me to try something different from what we usually review at MER. For once, I’ll listen to them without threatening to fire anyone. Diana’s Day isn’t our usual review, but that’s what we came for, right? To try new things, not just to reinforce our biases (oh sorry! You just came for comfort? Well, grow up, kid!). Let’s start!
Diana’s Day is a deceiving album. On one hand, it sounds like a dark Punk/Rock band that stepped into the heaviness department, but at the same time, it works with complicated and frankly tormenting concepts like finding your identity in this decadent, furious, and deconstructed world. You might even find Diana’s Day something you can dance to with your goth friends (if they knew how to dance, of course!), but its harmless textures hide real melancholy and anxiety. You’re not getting bashed in the head; you’re slowly losing yourself and withering away due to social forces beyond our control. I know it sounds bleak, but cheer up because there’s some hope here!
I must say, for a band that doesn’t attempt to shine in the technical department, Fourth Dominion has excellent intros to most of the tracks on Diana’s Day. They’re melodic, sure, but most of all memorable, doing a lot with so little. Just listen to “From Below” or “Hill Swords” to understand what I mean. Those intros sound almost like depressive Iron Maiden. Extremely weird, right? Well, this is a weird album or, to quote a sophist, “identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.” No freaking clue what that means, but maybe “the chicken and the egg are the same” fits this article better. Speaking of nonsensical things, let’s go to the bad!
Aside from the fact that Diana’s Day is a standard Goth Rock/Metal album that, though enjoyable, is not musically breaking tons of new ground, I’d say my biggest issue with the album is that some tracks are awesome while others don’t catch my attention the same way. It’s overall a consistent album, of course, but maybe I was expecting more experimentation with the musical structures, such as the ones you could find in a band like Vanishing Kids, which also plays a strange mix of Goth Rock and Metal.
Despite wanting more from the music, Diana’s Day caught my attention conceptually, and that’s harder to achieve. There are tons of virtuosos out there, but not as many artists with enticing visions. I think Fourth Dominion has that vision to make us understand the pain others go through while we’re having a good time listening to one sad riff after another. That’s why, for all our readers who secretly love Indie and Gothic stuff, please don’t hide anymore because we’re only going to judge your taste, not you! Now, go and check this album out!
Label: Fiadh Productions
Release date: August 1, 2024
Website: https://www.facebook.com/fourthdominion
Country: USA
Score: Finding who you are, only to lose yourself again, or 3.0/5.0? I hate scores…
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