Ever since getting my medical marijuana card and, uh, legally starting to use controlled substances mostly to help alleviate my anxiety, but dreams have fundamentally changed. Depending on the strain, my mind goes into different corners that I didn’t examine before subconsciously, and my dreams before this stand as almost an entirely different thing.
On their new record “Cycles in the Infinite Dream,” Chicago-based REZN delve into the realms we visit in our sleep, though not necessarily of the same ilk as mine. Digging into mental layers, warping ideas and realities, uncovering ideas perhaps we haven’t before fuel these songs, which also are best digested in the hours before sleep. The band—vocalist/guitarist Rob McWilliams, bassist Phil Cangelosi, synth/sax player Spencer Ouellette, drummer Patrick Dunn—creates an adventure that is sweeping, metallic, and immersive, filling your brain with imagery that can change with each listen.
“Rites of Passage” glimmers before guitars open and the singing smears, McWilliams calling, “Running away from oblivion, your shadows stands.” The guitars engulf as the pace chugs, the sounds do battle, and the final moments plaster. “Transient” starts with thick bass charring, the singing soaring, and sax clouds spreading, mashing again. “Life ethereal,” McWilliams wails, a burly force overloading, dreamy singing mixing with diving synth, everything floating into the stars. “Cloudfall” has riffs charging, the vocals driving, emotion flooding over the walls, digging into rock as the chorus swells. An atmospheric glide glistens as effusive rippling shakes the ground, keys plinking like ice crystals. “Aerial Birth” arrives by air, breezy playing guiding as the chorus lands, and then we’re back out to the water. Things turn starry and hypnotic, scrawling across the sky, slide guitars adding sepia tones. “Devotion” is an instrumental interlude, guitars echoing as sounds scrape, strings aiming their journey into blue skies.
“The Vessel” opens with riffs crunching, the singing gusting, and spirited pace trudging through mud, acoustics coloring behind the distortion. The playing trucks all over, the chorus crashes ashore, making a heavy impact, the weight growing, feeling insurmountable. “Escher” starts with a mid-tempo flow, pedal steel weeping, smoother singing melting into a slick. The playing buzzes harder, spacious exhales cooling flesh, guitars moaning into the distance. “Primal Thread” has the bass stomping in, a calculated push slowly increasing your heart rate, the singing numbing as heavy punches reach rib cages. Ghostly leads send chills as the guitars hang like a storm, the bass gives off thick smoke plumes, and the keys create a thick haze that gets into your psyche. Closer “Terra Preta” feels mystical when it dawns, a slight psychedelic film draped across your eyes, the words aiming before the hammers drop. The pace picks up, adding reflective ends and whirry numbness, McWilliams urging, “For once in your life, cross over the line.” The darkness thickens as distorted blasts loosen teeth, the keys carrying off into space.
“Cycles in the Infinite Dream” accomplishes its mission well, conjuring visions of places only in your mind where one can find solace and regeneration. REZN’s music is more for contemplation than indulging in barbary and bloodshed, and their energy is such that it easily captures you and lures you through the journey. This is probably best suited for listening later at night, especially when numbed over, as the dreams swim in your mind and make their way into your consciousness.
For more on the band, go here: https://rezzzn.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://found.ee/REZN-CITID
For more on the label, go here: https://sargenthouse.com/
Meat Mead Metal 