With a slew of singles over the past five months already embedding themselves into the hearts and minds of their devoted disciples, including viral smash ‘The Summoning’; the intrigue into Vessel’s continued spiritual evolution is one of the most highly anticipated melodic expositions of 2023, which leaves us especially confident in revealing that such great expectations have officially blown up and out of the ether come encountering this exceptional album in full.
As the soundscape mirrors the conversion of spiritual toils, obsessive destruction and the furthering obtainment of self-actualisation; TMBTE, could present itself as somewhat of an enigma to the contemporary heavy music scene, due to its ever converting personality and semi-covert subliminal messaging, alongside a penchant for genre-fluidity including the likes of prog metal, R&B, ambient and indie pop, which has produced one of the most fascinating audible experiences we’ve ever had the pleasure of engaging with. Most of TMBTE’s runtime is an exquisite example of how to produce a gratifying sensory overload, with a billowy flow that’s only comparable to that of dramatic sacred/ritualistic hymns; the proclivity for a fully immersive style to storytelling is a compelling full force of nature, which pommels us with every layer of its dominant monolithic presence.
“The commitment to this kind of extensive mysterious paradigm is such rare marvel in contemporary music”
Tracks as ‘Ascensionism’ leave us feeling like we’ve just experienced the audio equivalent of ascension to the heavens, while ‘Are You Really Okay?’ presents Vessel as a willing saviour, imploring us to find a sense of calm away from toxicity and mental torment, with a delivery leaving us utterly stunned. It has an uncanny ability to speak to the core of the lonesome, its tender hooks rich with phrases and affectations we’ve longed to hear from those we love for far too long. TMBTE’s incredible ability to exorcise our emotional needs and desires is not only a validating experience on an extremely personal level, it’s also a confronting one due to its raw, visceral vulnerability that’s enough to reduce you to tears, sprouting from its tenacious grasp of connectivity to suffering.
Although large portions of the track list seem to centre around destructive intimacy, immersion into the extraordinary and the enticement of the bending or breaking of human limitations; a hopeful thread bordering on sentimentality and the essence of being “untouchable” when cradled in the shadow of Vessel’s ascension to a wise yet authoritative figure head, begins to appear in the aftermath of our overly poignant awakenings within the penultimate title track ‘Take Me Back To Eden’ and ‘Euclid’.
“Take Me Back To Eden is the definition of transcendence all the while beautifying the process of loss and reclamation of self.”
Take Me Back To Eden is the definition of transcendence all the while beautifying the process of loss and reclamation of self. Through absorption of Olympus-esque celestial opulence shrouded in a dark wave bombardment, consisting of slow burn righteousness, disunity and a heavy helping of instrumental thunderclap clusters all the while being caressed by an enchanting yet complicated voice of reason, weaving through the mind like a possessed vicuña sash; you soon find that you have been left with a firmer hold of potent wholeness, not by the dogma of Sleep’s design but through Vessel’s demonstration of achieving peace and wishing to spread it amongst those who need it most.
The commitment to this kind of extensive mysterious paradigm is such rare marvel in contemporary music, one which we believe should be a compulsory listening experience due to its expert word-building and fantastical execution. In reflection, the album presents itself as the hand of otherworldly greatness, reaching out towards you, daring you to take a chance and clutch it. To trust in its complex wisdom and revel in its transformative ascendancy.
The question is, would you take their hand in worship?