Despite many years of existence, Duskmortym, the solo-outfit of Ethan ‘Dusk’ Bowes, did not release anything official at all. …until now. Under the Duskmortym-moniker, Ethan wrote, composed and released the full length One Night Over The Baltic…, which has a total running time of about fifty five minutes. And the Baltic as lyrical source of inspiration is quite remarkable for a Canadian project. Other lyrical sources are taken as well from European soil, but that aside…
One Night Over The Baltic… opens with As Night Embraced The Baltic…, starting with a soft-symphonic and ambiental one-minute introduction, and then transforming into an eclectic, energetic mixture of fast and epic Black Metal and different other influences, like Pagan, Viking, Death and Dark Metal, as well as Avant-Garde, Folk, Gothic and Ambient. There is quite some variety in this song (and that goes for every piece on this album). The tempo, for example, is not constant for longer than one minute. The main speed is pretty fast, but sometimes the whole blasts even more, then again it slows down. Also the melodic side is pretty divers, with harsher parts interacting with melodious ones. On top of it, the track contains fiery solos, technical riffs, female vocals, an atmospheric keyboard-based outro… The first time it sounded little incoherent and chaotic, but after three listens I start to recognize the conceptual structure (once again this goes for each piece on the album). The second hymn, In Shrouds Of Owls Diana Spies Past Stormy Passage Of Oboe And Violet An Empire Shining In Hungary With Blue Mountain Gaze (what’s in a name?; there are more impressive song titles on this album, you know…), is comparable, and even more guitar-driven and power-focused than the opener, yet still creating a cacophonous collection of styles, tempos and structures. The track clocks almost eight minutes, so it needs persuasion and perseverance, but those who resist brain damage will notice that this multi-layered experience truly offers intelligence and defiance. And So it continues. I can go on by analyzing each composition on One Night Over The Baltic…, but I won’t. I just add some more impressions, ideas, elements: acoustic Folk-excerpts, neo-classical pieces (sometimes with piano), blasting thrashgrinding eruptions, glorious and victorious epic, Flamenco-alike guitar parts, symphonic orchestrations, and so on…
It might seem odd, but if you mix specific elements from Finnugor, Cradle Of Filth, Rhymes Of Destruction, Munruthel, Imperial Vengeance and Unexpect, then you will still have no idea, but at least an intention, a direction… I would warn you to have at least a couple of listens, because this hard-to-digest stuff might cause confusion and schizophrenia, with as possible result: or total madness and irritation, or eternal obeisance…