Vicky
I would like to dedicate this review to my English teacher, who taught me that there is more to Edgar Allan Poe than just “The Raven”, who helped me see both depth and vulnerability in Poe’s works, such as “Dreams”, “Song”, and “Serenade”.
I am late yet once again with a review, however now, since I am only late by a week and a bit, you might say I am somewhat on time. Anyway, now for the fun part, where I get to inform you kindly regarding the band history…
A Dream Of Poe sings Symphonic Doom Metal, was founded in 2005 and consists of multi-instrumentalist Miguel Santos and lyricist Paulo Pacheco. For obvious reasons, I do not recommend listening to this album at the gym or while driving, but it is absolutely perfect for contemplating existence and immersing into introspective depths. The instrumentals, and especially the orchestral parts, tell a story of their own. A tale of loss, grief, and sorrow, of darkened emotions that slowly take control of those who allow themselves to know solitude.
As I am sure I have made clear, the album is really great. But what really makes it stand out is the usage of alternate vocals – the group uses two main vocalists, one growler and a person reciting something known as “the spoken word on track 4”. There are also backing singers who have unfortunately not been listed, even though they deserve more recognition…
One of the best tracks, “Exhorting Nightmares”, is a glorious soundscape featuring profound lyrics such as, for instance: “One by one I see them trembling / Before the commands I impart. / Come, vicious worms of abhorrence, / Come and cease your unrelenting violence. / And the child, broken and distraught, / wishes eternal surrender. / I looked upon her: / A woman carved in pain. / Bounded by old spells that reign / Supreme above her spirit, slain.”
Along the way, the album speaks of mythology (also drawing inspiration from the Eleusinian Mysteries, and tragic cosmology), and even deals with topics such as nihilism, the “marriage” itself here representing a union that ends in violent destruction, rebuilding and daring to dream or to hope again, the endless torment of knowing that death is near and it is inevitable. The album is an oasis for all those who know that life must be lived not waiting for the ultimate ending, but treasuring every emotion (even the negative ones) for what they may end up teaching us about ourselves and our endurance.
To conclude, Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes is truly a descend into the underworld, but I dare say it is one that shows one how to embrace the true nature and duality of our being – the coldhearted one (represented in the universe of Katabasis through a murderer) and the one perpetually searching for a higher knowledge (here shown through a child and a man). These sides of the human existence prove to us that there is always more to existence than the “ashes”, there is the union between light and bleakness that merge in order to exist again in what A Dream Of Poe show us is… Katabasis.
Label: Meuse Music Records
Release date: April 24, 2026
Website: https://dreamofpoe.bandcamp.com/
Country: Portugal
Score: 3.5/5.0
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