Dö ‘Den’ DD 2015

Dö 'Den' are a three man doom/stoner project operating out of Helsinki. Relatively short lived, Den is their second EP, following hot on the heels of the creatively titled EP 2014, which was surprisingly both an EP and released in 2014. Their sound is a blend of mid-paced stoner tones, bleaker, drawn out doom and a slight dusting of blackened vibes.

Opener For The Worms kicks in with some bright, ringing acoustic chords that are really hammered at, producing a nice amount of natural noise, string rattling and fret buzz. Big, substantial chords and kick-drum hits usurp, and there’s a slight sense of a black-metal edge to the angular main riff. There are lashings of reverb, perhaps a little too much on Peat Rex’s drums and Deaf Hank’s vocals. It keeps a stately tempo as it alternates between the acoustic refrain and the main, meatier riff. A solo ascends over splashes of cymbals and a nice, restless bassline before morphing back into the main riff. The close out seems a bit laboured, perhaps stretched too thin, and the return of the acoustic chords is no little relief.

Frostbites begins with a nice, lumbering riff with a heavy buzz, punctuated by Hank’s ragged screams. The tempo is whipped up and driven along by a decent, stomping snare-kick pattern before washing out into droning feedback and a bluesy guitar break. There’s a touch of HOWL in their crunchier depths, and another guitar solo is thrown atop shifting bass and pounding drums before the tempo, and the track, ‘wind down’, the riffs getting choppier and more staccato.

The moody, atmospheric bass runs on Hex are swiftly joined by vocals and swell, with the aid of intuitive snare and tom work, into more angular, brooding chords which change again into a palm mute-heavy version of the same riff. The cymbals splash with a satisfying intensity, and the biting guitars give way to a pleasingly sloppy solo that nears sleazy territory. Closer The Moon Follows Us is unfortunately the track with the least to say for itself. The band eschews driving, uptempo riffs to focus more on spacey vibes and a wider scope, stately, measured tempos and a bass line full of slides and hooks. It expands out into a 70’s stoner/doom worshipping riff, but is a little too simplistic to match some of the higher points on this EP.

Overall this is a promising, cohesive effort from the Finnish trio. It’s not genre redefining or an absolute statement of musical intent, by any stretch, and the immersion breaking vocals and over use of reverb show that the band have a little work left to polish their sound.  That said, Denis absolutely worth a listen, even if it is just one.

Label: Self Released,
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

Scribed by: Jay Hampshire