It’s easy to think we’re slipping into a Orwellian nightmare no matter where on the globe you live. Living here in the United States, watching a tyrannical government run roughshod over its people is disgusting, and if this unraveling continues, generations from now, people could be living in a nightmare we only imagined in stories and movies.
Newly born gothic doom band Lights of Vimana have utopian societies in mind and the hopelessness and darkness that choke their centers on debut record “Neopolis.” The five tracks on this record, created by three artists spread across the world, captures the bleakness and dreary future of societies eroded to the ground by fascist governments. On this album, the band—vocalist Déhà (he of about 10 million bands), guitarist/bassist Jeremy Lewis (Mesmur), drummers/keyboardist Riccardo Conforti (Void of Silence)—sinks into elegant, yet morbidly dark doom, feeling like you’re swimming in ink. It lures you in and bathes your mind in grays and rain-splashed nights, wondering if you’ll ever escape reality.
“Nowhere” runs 14:10, buzzing in as synth beams, and Déhà’s rich singing sends a cooling vibe. The playing darkens as things gets gustier and bask in shadows, guitars opening and charring, the keys giving off an alien feel. Guitars heat up and flood as growls and singing intertwine, and then a gust of fog compromises your vision, the vortex pulling you into deeper hues. Melodies flow as a cosmic dusting hardens the surface, the guitars tingle, and then a last bit of crunch disappears into gothy air. “Endure” enters in a stormfront, proggy guitars cutting into electricity, singing and growling doing battle as dreamy immersion takes over. That sense of ease doesn’t last as the guitars hulk up, crushing as synth beams bathe you, lead lines lathering with added oxygen. The light and dark vocals again do battle as keys cascade, and everything crashes out.
“Real” starts clean and eerie, the playing stomping through mud as deep, amber singing coats, and the temperatures suddenly turn frostier. The power bursts through the ice as lurching cosmic doom takes hold, guitars soar, and emotions run high. The singing feels ripped from Déhà’s heart as the foundation slowly crumbles, fades into blinding light, and flows toward the title track that is a fever-inducing, nighttime instrumental. Synth darts as the guitars send cool waves, plinking through an enveloping haze. It feels like moonlight illuminating your path as melodies bubble and sounds buzz into closer “Remember Me.” Regal synth pumps as the playing gets burlier, the signing taking to the sky before being upended by guttural growls. Guitars charge as sounds trumpet, electronic pulses sending signals to your brain, blowing open with a sooty crunch. The vocals push to the limits as the guitars dig their claws deeper, and a spirited rush spikes adrenaline before dissolving into the earth.
As we fall deeper into our own dystopian reality, music like what Lights of Vimana put on display with “Neopolis” might be called upon to soothe nerves as we watch horrors unfold. It’s a strange soundtrack to a reality no one really wanted, yet here we are, taking on that doom-encrusted reality full force. Yet the tiny specks of light that push through can give us some faith that the worst can be overcome, and we can somehow defeat the darkness.
For more on the band, go here: https://lightsofvimana.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.dusktone.org/categoria-prodotto/preorder/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.dusktone.it/
Meat Mead Metal 