Path of the Incarnate

Begun as a short demo, and now expanded to a five-song EP, "Path of the Incarnate" is the debut release from Portland / Oregon post-BM duo Velothian. Intended as a tribute to science fiction and fantasy, "Path of the Incarnate" plays as a soundtrack to a short film depicting the trials of a rebel protagonist daring to defy a cruel and vicious god in a world of myth and fantasy, and of mysterious alien landscapes that might once have existed in the early prehistory of Earth. While Velothian's core style is melodic BM combining a keen raw edge and a clear polished sound, the music also includes elements of post-BM and blackgaze, ambient and progressive rock, all flowing from one to the next and so on, and giving the impression of a musical narrative that grows in musical range and emotional and atmospheric depth with the story it is telling in five songs.

Opening track "Outlander" introduces us to our nameless hero who, freed from physical and other personal restraints and manipulations, embarks on a life journey to fulfil a prophecy. Though dominated by straightforward if still visually evocative lyrics sung in a raspy voice, the song features highly melodic BM with a rough, even acidic texture and a distinctly sultry (if not quite suffocating) ambience. "Eye of the Night" is a bit slower in pace and slightly darker in mood, but no less rousing in its catchy melodies. The song wends its way through rugged riffs and rhythms and the odd passage of soft and sweet acoustic-guitar liquid flow. "Dreams of the Gold Mask" brings in more sinister mood and narrative development in its inclusion of death metal rhythm structures and passages of heady and humid ambience, dissonant jangly melodies and prog-rock lead guitar soloing.

The last couple of songs bring in more ambient elements almost verging on dungeon synth, and influences from depressive BM and blackened sludge, all mixing into Velothian's already very hybridised BM style by flowing smoothly and easily from one to the next. The mood correspondingly changes to pessimistic and sorrowing, to one appearing to be passive and resigned, as human efforts against an oppressive deity seem to fail, but the conclusion seems quite ambiguous and there is a hint that, no matter how much pain and suffering there have been, no matter how many have had to die, the dream of freedom and independence lives on. The music can be lumbering, especially in later moments of closing track "The Mire", and maybe the lead guitar howl could have been edited for length, but the EP goes out in a bang of fiery defiance and epic raw BM / ambient drone assault.

With each track having a different mix of genres and corresponding moods and emotions, and at the same time the music becoming more hybridised, complex and epic in scale, the EP can be treated both as a compilation or a story, whichever is preferred by listeners. At the same time there are some elements in common - the vocals definitely don't change much in tone and style, and the music retains a sharp raw edge - so the music does have some unity. For a short EP, the music can be stupendous to the point of seeming cramped and sometimes ending abruptly, though later tracks have moments of monotony where the music is doing very little.

As it is, "Path ..." is a good introduction to a new act brimming with ideas on combining science fiction and fantasy in a post-BM / ambient crucible. It has polish and very good and consistent technical skill and flourish. Velothian has quite a job juggling genres and sub-genres, and the danger on future releases is the two musicians may try to do too much with too many influences all at once and end up with a confused pastiche of music lacking in individuality and freshness. They need to concentrate on the essential music styles they both like the most and can agree on, and take those styles to their extreme limits in emotion, mood and atmosphere. The themes behind "Path ..." would also be worth exploring in more depth and developed on future recordings, perhaps with further, related themes about the difficulties, hardships and isolation that individuals marked for heroic acts of rebellion and resistance against powerful enemies might experience.