Review by Vinny for Dvvell - Quiescent (2022)

Doom and sludge when measured in the correct quantities on a record can make for a delicious combination to satiate the appetite of a lover of extreme metal.  My preference with such blends is to go heavier on the sludge, forming a kind of sludge crust if you like and then let the doomier filling ooze out as I gorge further into the unholy pie in front of me.  Quiescent in many ways is the à la carte of the sludge/doom menu.  Seasoned with ethereal dissonance and packed still with the meaty density of CHRCH, these four tracks are filling, but all are of a length that gives the discerning diner the opportunity to savour each course.

Often resembling a slightly less ghastly Primitive Man, Dvvell possess that same pummelling yet torturous percussion that Joe Linden brings to the table.  Vocally, Kristy Senkor-Hall is not a million miles away from the style of Ethan Lee McCarthy either.  Dvvell in the comparison have the upper hand in the atmosphere stakes though.  ‘Mother’, ‘Father’, ‘Son’ and ‘Daughter’ all have individual presence about them, and with no track under twelve and a half minutes, the band do a fantastic job of making every minute interesting.  The combination of oppressive intensity and sonic ambushes certainly kept me on my toes throughout the album.

There is no time for polish here, no tolerance for avant-garde moments.  Dvvell have all their ducks lined up, have addressed any elephants in the room and are well underway with frying any big fishes they have lying around the place.  Indeed, Quiescent is so tight sounding that you could be forgiven for thinking it got laid down in one take.  When a band manages to get into such a wonderfully dark zone so early on in a record, it is hard to see much that can distract them out of it.

I discovered this band from the November 2025 The Fallen playlist and I knew within one listen through that this was a purchase.  Hence it now sits in my Bandcamp collection.