DRIFT INTO BLACK - PATTERNS OF LIGHT

I got contacted by the bassist of Drift Into Black, Paul LaPlaca, if he could send his latest release to me and so he did. Drift Into Black used to be an one-man project of Craig Rossi (Grey Skies Fallen keyboardist) but now he has added Paul and Klemen Markelj to the line up. Drift Into Black plays straight forward doom metal but at a bit faster pace. Not like the droney doom stuff but the mid-paced doom metal. Of course there are the essential heavy metal influences scattered throughout the album so with all of that in the back of my mind, I went for it.

You have to keep the idea that this album is about something very dark in the back of your head. The album tells the story of a deaf/mute girl who is experiencing her mother being murdered right in front of her by her stepdad and getting retribution towards her stepdad after the murder. That is something really heavy to write about and let alone do a review of it.

To give a good picture of the album, you will have to have a mindset that is able to listen to many genres mixed into each other. Of course the inevitable (melodic) doom metal is the most upfront genre that is present but during 'Patterns Of Light' you will hear doom/death, heavy metal, gothic, progressive all getting their bit in the spotlight.

One of the first noticeable aspects of 'Patterns Of Light' is the production. The overall quality of the production isn't above average. Maybe that is because there are a lot of elements that need to be mixed and mastered but the overall volume of the instruments (mostly drums and bass) should've been higher in the mix.

There are some moments during the album that do spice things up. The weird Morbid Angel 'Where The Slime Live'-esque swampy effect on the vocals are really intriguing nonetheless. Besides a couple of other moments during 'Patterns Of Light', the album does tend to fall back to the basic mid-paced doom metal we are all know and, most of the time, love. During 'Her Voice From Beyond' you get an almost grungy type of vocals mixed with traditional doom vocals which do surprise me a lot. 'Her Voice From Beyond' is probably the most diverse song on 'Patterns Of Light'. There are a lot of elements that keep the song very interesting and there is a lot to dissect. Some people might get annoyed by the vast amount of effects that are being used on the vocals however, I like the sound that Drift Into Black is trying to figure out.

There are a lot of elements that are really interesting during 'Patterns Of Light' however, those get caught in the falling back into mid-paced doom metal. That is really a shame because you can hear that the experience and the talent is right at Drift Into Black's feet. I know that they can release the most interesting doom metal albums of 2021/2022 but 'Patterns Of Light' isn't quite there yet. Hopefully Drift Into Black finds time to release a flawless album which doesn't have quantity of quality. 'Patterns Of Light' is a promising album that does need a gear change here and there. Try to step out of the comfortable mid-paced doom metal.