The Stars Would Not Awake You

At first, I didn't realize this was another project of Dis Pater, who is well known for Midnight Odyssey and The Crevices Below. There were a lot of similarities in sound which spurred my research and eventual elation to having stumbled upon this band. It was quite interesting upon learning that this wasn't another one of his raw/lo-fi symphonic black metal projects but rather an orchestral doom/death metal band.

Dis Pater's Tempestuous Fall begins our journey with 'Old & Grey' with mournful string synth before erupting into the first verse at the 0:54 mark. The sound here is much different from his black metal works. The drums are quite clear and sharp, the guitars still have that fuzzy-flange sounds to them that you'd hear from Dis Pater's other works, but they must be tuned down. They are much heavier than the sounds on his other recordings. This might sound appealing to fans familiar with his other work, but it's not nearly as complimentary as the majestic Midnight Odyssey. In fact, it's the repetition that kills the album.

I'm no stranger to long movements and track lengths, nor am I adverse to them. But the thing that makes lengthier songs worth listening to is when things actually happen throughout the course of them. There's just not a lot of diversity to the songs here, they just tend to repeat the same long drawn out sequence. Things are usually shaken up a bit by the presence of mournful choirs and clean vocals but damn if they don't become monotonous and eventually blend in with all the rest; they become predictable and you expect them to appear at certain points, no longer attentive to them as if they were a highlight of the piece.

I suppose it's still worth checking out. If it's your cup of tea, go for it. I'll stick to Midnight Odyssey though.

6.5/10, 65/100. It's not great, but it's not worth ignoring either.