Dool – The Shape Of Fluidity: Album Review

By Mike Ainscoe on 23rd April 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Embrace the slow burning and hugely evocative presence of Dool

Release Date: 19th April 2024

Label: Prophecy Productions

Format: CD / digital / vinyl

Calling upon the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus and his notion that life itself is in a constant state of change. Dool’s third album picks up and runs with a similar theme. Enveloped in a cloak of darkness, The Shape Of Fluidity builds on a two album legacy with musical nods to progressive and post-rock as well as doom and heavy metal in a tense and dynamic backdrop.

It’s vital to emphasise the themes of personal change, physical change, psychological change, and the ever-changing world around us. In particular,singer and guitarist Raven van Dorst provides the question of how change can affect us, asking how do we keep being ourselves in a world that is so incredibly demanding and aggressive towards the individual? The suggestion that we must be as fluid as water to navigate ourselves through this ocean of possibilities and uncertainties in order to make peace with chaos and impermanence is a key principle in The Shape Of Fluidity.

Having set the scene, some might argue that the opening coupling of Venus In Flames and Self-Dissect are worth the price of admission alone. Certainly first hearing reveals both as instantly catchy in a strange way. The guitar figure of the former that duels with a driving riff and unsettling distant (child’s?) voices bleeds into the might of the later. A flurry of drums, ethnic swirls from guitar and an impassioned vocal raise the bar and carry the weight of expectation as Dool take Porcupine Tree in their In Absentia phase to extremes.

The instrumental Currents tat provides a the menace of a dark overture to the more upbeat and urgent Evil In You that in the context of the album, seems a cuckoo in the nest. More overtly single material, a wise choice has been to void the more obvious in favour of songs that are more representative of the album. That box ticked, the downright Metal parts on the monolithic beauty and the beast Hermagorgon reinforce the heavier aspects of Dool alongside the almost lullaby melodies.

The emphasis on ominous tones and darker themes are continued with the title track – the significance of the “lost in false imagery” line playing heavily – where a shift into arguably lighter yet still poignant is recaptured in the likes of House Of A Thousand Dreams. The haunting qualities would be an apt soundtrack for some Netflix horror binge series as remaining on a steady musical course only emphasises the dynamic resolution in the “underneath the velvet sky” section. A fine example of finding beauty in darkness and a match for the vast soundscapes which are the AA Williams stock in trade; a sombre sludginess that comes decorated with refined guitar passages be they in delicate arpeggios or melodic lead lines.

An affirmation of being true to yourself, The Shape Of Fluidity is a chance to embrace the slow burning and hugely evocative presence of Dool.

Here’s the gateway track -a wisely chosen single, Venus In Flames: