Dreadnought - The Endless (2022)^{Release ID: 39512}

I hadn’t encountered Denver-based progressive metal outfit Dreadnought before but I’m very glad I’ve rectified that omission now because their brand new fifth album “The Endless” is one of the best releases I’ve heard in 2022. Dreadnought’s sound sees them combine a progressive take on metal with the tribal drumming & atmospherics of post-metal to wonderful effect & is further highlighted by the angelic female vocals of band leader Kelly Schilling. You can expect to see the band occasionally heading into black metal & some more avant-garde territory at times but Dreadnought are definitely at their best when their attention is focused purely on creating emotionally-charged & deeply moving atmospheres that bring to mind some of Anathema’s mid-to-latter period releases. The 3rd & the Mortal also springs to mind quite often, particularly given the vocal approach & progressive leanings.

On the negative, I have to admit that the first two of the six tracks included here are comfortably the weakest even if they’re still pretty engaging. But my goodness I was in for a surprise after that with three of the remaining four pieces being nothing short of mind-blowing. There’s a transcendental elegance to Dreadnought’s music that appeals to me on the deepest emotional level when they get it right & I can’t imagine how this release isn’t being held in much higher regard. I suspect it’s due to the lack of patience from the modern audience as you really do have to give this album a chance to open up, particularly given the unfortunate way they’ve programmed the tracklisting which I presume was to include some of the more extreme black metal stuff at the start of the album to get people’s attention.

Dreadnought are the perfect example of what the modern metal scene has to offer. They’re fresh & ambitious & have a rare talent for connecting with their audience on an emotional level that allows them to be transported to wonderfully lush & drastically foreign places. They’ve been a real find for me this month & I want to commend Saxy on his feature release nomination because this is what Metal Academy is all about i.e. identifying high quality & interesting releases that offer great appeal but that you’d likely never encounter otherwise.

For fans of Obsidian Kingdom, Kontinuum & Solstafir.