Dark Suns: Existence

For all of Dark Suns being a German doom metal band far removed from its element after a solitary album, Existence is a subtle record that, from my perspective, has found its way in an eternal playlist since its debut in 2005. Earlier, on Swanlike,they played with the art of deviating from the typical four piece metal outfit and choose on this record to manipulate audio while simultaneously remaining at their best musicianship in the process. Dark Suns were meant to play airy, ethereal music, and with Existence comes the strongest record in their career.

The concept of life being a well-constructed prank permeates the music with the monologue of Zero opening the record, steeped in dramatic, backwashed guitar and keyboard melodies reminiscent of a film. The topics the band tackle are obviously existential, so much to where you listen to the varying vocal effects delivered by the Knappe brothers that you are whisked away in philosophical introversion. This track brings the much needed moody preface that A Slumbering Portrait requires, being its twin in design with the notion of innocence being destroyed by anything from time to people to places. It beings the tumult of the traditional metal instruments into the forefront, but to a point not to empower the two fold introduction until The Euphoric Sense is allowed passage after another breath of wistful remembrance for a time when these questions never existed to their woeful writers.

The tracks following dance between their interludes more than some metal listeners would appreciate, but for the atmosphere of the record the breathing the album performs is a testament to its prevailing topic of uncertainty. Guitar work here is more often than not simple, yet effective plunks that choose to act as background in some instances and a bullet train in others. Percussive work is performed with careful control and mixed properly and bass pumps with the conviction that a record of this caliber requests.

Abiding Space provides escapism whereas Daydream outright wants to deny the prospect of life being full of uncertainties by resorting to simpler times, only to wake each time to the startling reality the lyrics carve. The music deceives the listener better than words may provide description, to a very impressive effect.

Some lyrics are outright strange due to English not being their language of choice, but most of them make sense whereas other metaphors they use are hard to reach. Patterns of Oblivion and One Endless Childish Day wrap the album in revelation, musically and in all other departments, that their escapism was the very design of their existence.

5/5, a heavy-handed record that, without notice, will surprise the listener with its scale of subjects and raw musical talent.

I love spoken word- hearing a metal track that incorporates that sounded awesome. Definitely need to find a download for this

Listened to Patterns of Oblivion as well

This album is really helping me a lot. My girlfriend just left me and being that we lived together for years only to be ended with an abrupt, but completely cordial "goodbye" made me appreciate the density of this record even moreso. I don't think that this information will serve to preface the record anymore than it already is in terms of its grim mood, but my God if it isn't the best panacea for melancholy. It exercises it then obliterates it with unrestrained effort. May this go down in progressive metal history.

is this a two disc lp? because its almost clocking in at 90 minutes, thought that exceeded most discs capacities. great review, ill throw it on today while editing

Nah, it's one disc.

While Patterns of Oblivion is arguably my favorite off the album, this track is much better than Zero when it comes to defining their musical aptitude.

Sorry to hear about your girlfriend dude, I'll add a point to your reputation, that should significantly mitigate some loses

It's all right. I'm infuriated more than anything: I found out that after a bunch of blathering about how she wants to "take responsibility for her life" and that in order to do so, she had to leave me - fair enough, but when I find receipts another man left behind in my car, when she stops going to work when she only worked anywhere from 15-25 hours a week anyway, and when she paints everyone in her past to be a comic book villain, not to mention that she didn't lift a finger for anything while other people around the house did her legwork... I'm not so inclined to believe her. I think she just found someone richer and more willing to spend money on stupid bullshit like designer clothes, shoes and expensive dinners. I'm too frugal to give a shit about high society. Call it simple.

This ordeal reminds me of a particular Cee-Lo Green song:



Nevertheless, this record does many things to me, including the sating of any duress and I believe it's power to enlighten is matched by its ability to perform progressive metal very well.

She left you because you didn't buy her enough stuff she wanted?

For many reasons, yet all of them influenced by avarice, I surmise.

She complained we didn't go out enough, despite the fact that I practically split my check with her and the bills hand over fist. Whenever she wanted something from the store, a fast food chain, at a restaurant - when we went, she got it, no questions. I suppose she doesn't consider going out to eat at Red Robin, Olive Garden or the various eateries surrounding our nearest strip mall "going out," but she would have if we went to see a movie. I would argue that movies, coupled with the activities we would undertake while waiting and the price of concessions was exorbitant and I can download movies, for free, at the house. I'm not much of a movie watcher and I suppose she didn't like this.

She believed I spent too much time on the computer. Yet, she would lord World of Warcraft for more than 7 hours a day with a guild that showered her with gold, compliments and inclusive activity. I would spend an hour and a half on the computer - my computer - and if I did so much as speak to a female on the internet, I had to play 50 questions with her. She had the gall to question who laydee was before she moved out, like she had some right to know who somebody on a forum she wasn't a part of was. She could talk to whomever she wanted, leave myself and Rumpintime to run our own guild (to his delight as he could never tolerate her, which is another issue entirely) while she was the princess of some Toblerone guild. She still complained we never went anywhere, but her ass was glued to the chair.

On the topic of ass being glued to the chair, when Rumpintime came down to visit me last year, she went into a stupid tizzy in front of my best friend over some laundry bullshit and browbeat me until I lashed at her about how she doesn't do shit for real and I'm always picking up her droppings where ever she goes. Imagine how much of a dick I look like not only to her, which may be understood to a degree, but to him for his bearing witness to that. She didn't like this and proceeded to make things as awkward as possible for reasons I can't comprehend. She couldn't cook or clean to save her life, so it was up to the others in her company to provide for her.

I didn't have sex with her nearly as much as she liked because I consider sex to be a very intimate thing that only happens when you're in particular moods. She seemed to interpret this as "particular times," in which just as we're all aware, there are particular times for women, as well. When I would deny her, she would insist that other people would have thrown themselves at her for sex to be as available as it was to me. To her chagrin, I'm not other people and sex barely matters to me.

tl;dr: she demanded more out of me than what I was willing to part with, despite the fact I put a roof over her head and a car in the driveway when her mom wouldn't and gave her practically every device necessary for stable function in society. Due to this deficiency of mine, she fucks someone else. I call it a wash. She's done for.

Damn man, an awful lot of red flags in there.
Those double standards are the worst. Her loss


At least your vernacular is pretty much at a thesaurus level

I think I'm intrinsically compensating for my spoken stupidity by sounding smart on the internet, but the individual is their own harshest critic.