Rezn: Chaotic Divine


 

Ascending the ranks of the underground scene and finally taking Europe by storm at Netherlands’ 2019 Sonic Whip, Chicago’s heavy psych and doom metal masterminds Rezn unleash a whole new dimension to their sound in a consciousness-expanding odyssey to another realm.

Conjuring the heaviness of a cthulu-cult’s madness, and the hypnotic spacyness of a middle-eastern snake-charming trance, Rezn beckons the listener deeper through the unexplored contents of their mind. Lysergic guitar layers channeling Hendrix and space rock pioneers Hawkwind soon give way to crushing riffs of fuzzy, voracious doom. 

After a killer set at Club Ghirabaldi in 2019, I had the chance to ask guitarist/vocalist Rob McWilliams what the theme for their next album was going to be. I was given two words: “the desert.” Chaotic Divine delivers, channeling desert-ritual vibes used by shamanic bands like Om to allow the listener to reach an altered state through mantra-like rhythms, most notably on “Garden Green.”

Opener track “Emerging” begins on a haunting acoustic segment and soon gives way to their signature titanic wall of sound rivaling England’s Electric Wizard and Swedish doom masters Monolord. “Waves of Sand” next takes the listener on a space rock voyage that teeters precariously between mesmerizing passages and spells of intensely psychedelic heaviness.

Back into the primordial soundscape of doom, “The Door Opens” brings the characteristic shade of dreaded darkness to the fray, featuring new vocals that take on a heavier, more sinister shade than Rob’s own. “Mother / Forever Time” is another winding, serpentine harmonic song that weaves in and out of its hypnotizing whirlpool of reverb-drenched vocals and ethereal shades. Album capstone  “Inner Architecture” lures the listener deeper through a disembodied dreamstate before all-consuming density bombards the listener deeper into the trance. Closer "The Still Center" brings a haunting conclusion that gives the feeling of deeper portents that remain, or a hidden dread to be discovered.

In Chaotic Divine, Rezn have created a one-way portal out of this world and into the unknown.






 

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