VESSEL OF LIGHT

Vessel Of Light EP

Argonauta
rating icon 7.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Where My Garden Grows
02. Dead Flesh and Bone
03. Meant to Be
04. Descend into Death
05. Living Dead to the World
06. Vessel of Light


It's been a while since we've seen Dan Lorenzo from HADES, NON-FICTION and THE CURSED, and while the metal underground continues to wallow in morbid fascination with anything containing a sludgy, doomy palette to it, he emerges with a timely new project. Bringing guitars, bass and songwriting to the table, Lorenzo is partnered with Nathan Opposition of ANCIENT VVISDOM, who fields VESSEL OF LIGHT's drums, vocals and lyrics. The duo issues a series of doom-based songs articulating the horrors of addiction, while frequently using metaphoric guns to the head as self-inflicted death sentence caveats. For only two guys, they muster a lot of mileage together, particularly in the EP's sharp production.

Dan Lorenzo's maudlin guitar line opening "Where My Garden Grows" serves as the blueprint melody to the skulking doom stomper "Dead Flesh and Bone". TYPE O NEGATIVE being the immediate vibe you catch with "Dead Flesh and Bone", Nathan Opposition takes his cue with a loose Peter Steele impression. He doesn't so much drop into the late Steele's dense projections, but it's the morose, sliding cadence of Steele he seeks to capture. Thus, "Dead Flesh and Bone" works well enough due to the grumbling chords Dan Lorenzo globs into it, and they grow even nastier on "Meant to Be". Staying in the key of TYPE O NEGATIVE, Nathan Opposition's lumbering rhythm and scraggly chops drop severity to the track. His jockeyed ranges are spooled together quite well, particularly toward the end of the song, as are Lorenzo's stacked tracks, the bass lines buzzing at amp's strain.

"Descend into Death" is where this EP picks up a little steam, knocking somewhere between THE OBSESSED and ALICE IN CHAINS. You've heard these riffs everywhere in metal, but they're shoved proficiently and well-timed to Nathan Opposition's snappy strikes. His vocals are at their most appealing here, swimming in a goth channel while chafing some gory snarls through the writhing choruses.

"Living Dead to the World" is an appealing doom homage to everyone from BLACK SABBATH to WITCHFINDER GENERAL to SAINT VITUS and yet, Nathan Opposition's vocals play the song a trick. One would find his acidy and aloof slogging more suited to a GREEN RIVER grunge cut, and yet they are weirdly welcome here. While hanging in this verve, Dan Lorenzo drops a fuzzy bass knock and some malevolent guitar notes into the puttering "Vessel of Light", a song that rings like a gnarly bro-down between MUDHONEY and Scott"Wino"Weinrich.

Where VESSEL OF LIGHT succeeds best is when the band tinkers with its foundational doom and stoner riffs and tries to push things forward. Otherwise, this would be a mere exercise to entertain two dudes' chum-speckled whims. There's lyrical intensity yielding caution everywhere and this EP contains some of the heaviest tones Dan Lorenzo has submerged himself in. He has the perfect playmate here as VESSEL OF LIGHT's moniker serves as a symbolic slash of hope through its foggy morass.

Author: Ray Van Horn, Jr.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).