Location: Genoa
Country: Italy
Genre: Draco metal
Full length: Promethium 61
Format: CD, digital
Label: The Black Library
Release date: May 19, 2023
Dowhanash drummer Rigel Berlingeri’s self-education in ancient beliefs is inextricably linked with his recording career, as he explained in his interview last month. I’m struck with the deep commitment he invested studying what he calls the Knowledge of the Dragon while listening to their three albums (2020’s “From The Ashes”, 2021’s “To The Stardust” and 2023’s “Promethium 61”) back to back.
A significant contribution to the cohesiveness of Dowhanash’s influences is the manner in which he helped write those albums. It was briefly discussed how the band's "Draco metal" is similar to German thrash metal, Swedish death metal, and Norwegian black metal. In his explanation, the tight fusion of those styles was achieved by spiritual meditation and channeling vibes he picked up from beyond.
“Promethium 61” exhibits this quality not only in its musicianship, but in its overall presentation. If you wish to appreciate the full spectrum of the spiritual and intellectual journey leading up to “Promethium 61”, you should listen to each album in one sitting, but the most recent album alone serves as a fitting introduction.
This album, as I mentioned in the interview, has an otherworldly quality permeating the vocals, guitars, drums, and especially the production. As far as I know in my experience, I haven't heard a combination of heavy musicianship, gruff vocals and a rich, vivid delivery in quite this way. In terms of how the songs appear on record, the only way I can describe them is they’re four dimensional, as much about depth and breadth as heaviness and rawness.
The songwriting displays elements of doom metal, classical metal and classical guitar (in the solos), prog metal, prog rock, and jazz fusion where they're needed. In addition to their unusual range for those influences, the vocals consistently convey the vibes of the Deadites in the original "Evil Dead" movies and the Cenobites in the original "Hellraiser" series. As with each album, the lyrics are also included on the Bandcamp link.
For the endless subgenre titles in underground metal, Draco Metal fits Dowhanash better than any other and it can’t easily be imitated, not even with the most conscious effort. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Luci: Vocals
Kōan: Bass, guitars
ND: Guitar solos
Rigel: Drums, guitars
Track list:
1. Behavioral Sink
2. They Will Resist
3. Meteora-S
4. Promethium 61
5. Free Doom
6. No Way Out
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