Arising to prominence with the release of their second LP Death Spells, the Arizona quartet have long opted to follow a more esoteric sound in comparison to many of their peers chasing more punishing pastures. Yet, despite Death Spells delivering less aural abuse than acts such as Deafheaven, Envy and Alcest for example, the record was still one of intensity, albeit in a more expansive and majestic nature. Death Spells was, and still is, a record of delicate nuance, one that lingers to-and-fro periods of dusked stillness and pain stricken devastation in a most that’s organic, dynamic but far from discordant. Dimensional Bleed, the successor to Death Spells, is a continuation of such stylings that see’s Holy Fawn only traveling further into the mirage of atmosphere that it’s predecessors conjured.
Inspired by the multiverse concept, Dimensional Bleed – like it’s namesake implies – takes subtle influence from the concept that multiple dimensions could intersect into one another, bleeding their alien contents into each respective timeline. It’s a topic ripped right out the annuals of pop culture yes, but the way in which this beautiful record navigates such a theme is far from conventional and overt though, with such a matter being expressed via the mystical musicianship binding the record. Whilst the ‘metalgaze’ sound has typically been executed by intertwining two unique textures together, Dimensional Bleed accomplishes this sound by organically bleeding two juxtaposing sounds together into a singular musical twine. The unison of ambient post rock, metal and shoegaze here is not one of easy chemistry, but one of arcane alchemy. The end result is something that’s familiar yet almost otherworldly, an offering from the very laylines of genre itself delivered with painfully human emotion.
Whereas the ambient opener ‘Hexsewn’ guides one softly into the oeuvre that Dimensional Bleed inhabits, ‘Death Is A Relief’ is where the full scope of this record becomes unveiled. As spacious ambience ebbs and flows from strength to intensity, it becomes apparent that this a far more expansive and embracing record than the one that came prior. Despite the eruptions of sound and hushed blackened vocals that emerge from the mirage of sound, the song is gorgeous, cathartic and soothing, a far cry from the screeched dissonance one might expect from the metalgaze genre. The proceeding ‘Lift Your Head’, ‘Empty Vials’ and the almost indie splendour of ‘Amaranthine’ see the expansive nature of the record spread upon the horizon and beyond, with Holy Fawn focusing on still and natural ambience and space that swirls in a way that’s pacifying yet still somewhat ominous. There’s absolutely no urgency within these tracks; in fact they almost feel naturally formed, cultivated from the deep, infinite atmosphere that Holy Fawn manifest. It wouldn’t be too hyperbolic to state comparisons between this record and to that of the work of Sigur Rós in this regard, especially with the record feeling esoterically spacious and sounding like it came from place beyond our comprehension.
Such is the majesty of this record. Instead of this sounding like a record formed with human hands, Dimensional Bleed feels like it came from within the expanses of nature and the void beyond itself. The incredible, ghostly vocal work of Ryan Osterman only adds to this nature, with such vocals not sounding like they’re coming from the throat of a living, mortal being. Instead, they sound ethereal and impalpable, as if Osterman is acting as a conduit for the earth itself to revel secrets on human nature that don’t have the emotional capacity to comprehend. The title track – easily the most immediate, confrontational and forward track on the record – does bare witness to this fact, but it’s ‘Sightless’ and ‘True Loss’ that stand as a testament to this. Here, the disembodied voice of Osterman guides the songs forward through ambient space, delivering them to their awe-inspiring final destinations and crescendos; the later being an earth shattering blackened upheaval still mollifying despite the rage, the later being a beautiful, tear jerking post rock crescendo that would break even the most callous of hearts.
In all, whilst Death Spells was a record of viscous atmosphere bleak yet majestic, Dimensional Bleed only strengthens such an atmosphere, making it palpable through inferential means. Not only is this a spellbinding masterclass in genre dynamism, it’s one that resonates more than a single universes amount of human emotion, and with each consecutive listen one will be awarded with new insights and emotion from timelines previously unknown.