EP REVIEW: Slow Dissolve – Ventenner

Alternative rock hybrid outfit, VENTENNER, have come out with their newest EP Slow Dissolve. The London quartet have been through years of major changes and upheavals, yet it’s a deliberate concept where their main theme resolves around change as shown through their music and the way it blends a variety of genres. The list of sounds brought into their songs ranges from metal and doom, all the way to atmospheric electronic rock that creates a soundscape of epic proportions.

Opening the EP, we start with Ultraviolet where we first hear industrial synths blended with heavy guitar and low vocals, giving off a dystopian vibe mixed with an overarching feeling of dread. It’s hard to compare to other artists, yet it’s fair to assume that there’s some influences leaking through in small doses with the likes of LINKIN PARK (if they went a darker route) coming through. Yet more than anything, the dystopian soundscape helps to narrate a scene where a group of survivors after a post-apocalyptic event rise from the ashes in a way that makes you feel empowered.

Following this is Sway where the themes of the previous track continue, yet the story is now taken over by vocals from Maya Berlin (COLD IN BERLIN) that helps to elevate the haunting atmosphere where you’re as equally unsettled as you are intrigued. Again, you find yourself thinking of early 00s nu-metal, yet this time, thanks to Berlin’s vocals, you find yourself thinking of the likes of WITHIN TEMPTATION and EVANESCENCE.

The final two tracks do move away from the dystopian nu-metal themes with focusing more on industrial meets drone meets doom sound, demonstrated in two juxtaposing ways. Solvent is more on the heavier side, thanks to the growling styled vocals and guitar breakdowns where one can truly appreciate by sitting back and closing your eyes as your mouth opens in awe. Whilst Relic is more on the slower side with quiet synths and dark beats interlaced with gentle guitar and piano. A fitting conclusion for a stunning EP.

There’s very little else to say outside of suggesting that you experience this record by sitting in a quiet room alone and letting yourself become fully immersed in the incredible sounds you’re about to hear.

Rating: 8/10

Slow Dissolve is out now via Athanor Records.

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