Review by Saxy S for Holy Fawn - Dimensional Bleed (2022)

Recently, another reviewer whose content I frequent gave a short review of the sophomore Holy Fawn album, Dimensional Bleed and gave it some of their highest regards. This intrigued me, so I gave it a few listens myself and... the result was quite solid. One thing that this album proves is that heavy metal music does not need to be at its most brutal at all times to be effective. Dimensional Bleed's post-metal elements are scattered throughout the album and likely never take up more than half of the full runtime. But when they do; those anchoring bass lines are titanic and carry the dreamlike guitars and reverb soaked vocals to the edges of the the human condition. I noticed on more than one occasion where this album was so pleasant and comforting that I'd get locked into a sway, before realizing that I need to focus on the music itself!

That can be a good and bad thing depending on where you approach this album from. On one hand, because each song seamlessly transitions from one to the next and each track is an excellent composition on its own, you could say that Dimensional Bleed has excellent structure, form and delivery. On the other, because each song is built around the same tempo and groove, you might find less variety in the grooves. The only notable exception is "Void of Light", whereas the rest falls into a very cozy doom-y, post-metal, blackgaze sound; a sound quite similar to more modern Deafheaven.

That Deafheaven comparison might be worrisome considering how little I resonated with Infinite Granite. But here it feels more developed and better executed. I struggle to put it in my short list for AOTY because like with a lot of good post-metal, the comfort does not always make for a mesmerizing experience. But for what it is worth, Dimensional Bleed is ethereal so it does live up to its own standards. I doubt many MA members will find much with this, but as a relaxing piece of shoegaze/post-metal, it's really good.

Best Songs: Death Is A Relief, Empty Vials, Dimensional Bleed, Void of Light, True Loss