Vin de Mia Trix – Palimpsests (Review)

This is the second album from Ukrainian doom metal band Vin de Mia Trix.

One of the reasons I love what I do at Wonderbox Metal is that I get exposed to some amazing music that I might not have ever encountered otherwise. This latest release by Vin de Mia Trix is exactly one of the reasons why I find running this site so fulfilling.

So, here we have a colossal album full of unrestrained ambition, with the musical talent to back it up. This weighty release only contains four tracks, but the entire playing time clocks in at a mighty 98 minutes.

This is lengthy, adventurous music that succeeds in creating dark atmosphere that’s dripping with texture and nuance in addition to the more crushing aspects of the band’s delivery.

Everything from acoustic lightness to monolithic funeral dirges are included, alongside a hefty dose of most things that you might expect to find in-between, with various paces and moods represented. Within the constraints of the band’s chosen style there’s a lot of diversity and interest to be had here. Basically, if it’s doom and it’s metal, it’s in here somewhere.

There’s an old-school Scandinavian feel to some of the material here, although this certainly doesn’t define Vin de Mia Trix. The music they create takes influence from the death/doom style, funeral doom, atmospheric doom metal, post-metal, and progressive rock; all of these elements are apparent in the band’s music at various times and in various ways, merging together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

All of the instruments are proficiently played, but I really feel special mention must go to the bass. Usually an overlooked and underutilised instrument, neither of these things can be said of the bass performance on Palimpsests. In music that’s already rich with luscious content, the bass adds so much more to the songs than you would expect.

Growled vocals slot into the framework of the rest of the music with their feral snarls. These are as well-performed as you would hope for, and are utterly necessary to the music, adding a certain vigorous strength to the songs. However, it’s the clean vocals that really make me sit up take notice. Perfectly judged and wonderfully performed, the singer’s voice is like silken gold, pouring out from the music with resplendent grace.

The band have crafted songs that are multifaceted and rich in depth and substance. Sprawling compositions like these would fail very quickly if they were bereft of these latter elements, but it seems that Vin de Mia Trix have conspired together to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Every aspect of this release seems like it has been examined with studious care to make sure that the music presented to the world is as high-quality and richly evocative as it can be. Their hard work has paid off, as Palimpsests is a masterwork of doom metal.

I’ve opined before that some of the best albums are ones that take the listener on a journey, and Palimpsests takes you on a fully-fledged epic odyssey.

What a stunning release. There’s not much more to say than this, really. Absolutely stunning.