Since the release of their 2017 debut album Here Now, There Then, Dutch five piece DOOL have been generating buzz and turning heads across mainland Europe. At their core a straight shooting hard-rock outfit, the band blended elements of psychedelic, prog, post and gothic rock alongside some heavier touches of doom and post metal to round out their explorative soundscapes. Their breakthrough second album, 2020’s Summerland doubled down on this approach, offering another helping of moody atmospheres and progressive songwriting. The Shape Of Fluidity sees DOOL honing their technique once again, fine-tuning the balance of styles to truly become themselves with both their music and their message.
Album opener ‘Venus In Flames’ is immediate and urgent, blazing to life with a driving drum beat and enrapturing guitar melodies, unfolding over the course of seven minutes. Weaving between powerful chorus’, hypnotic grooves and cathartic guitar solos is Raven Van Dorst’s unique and powerful vocals and layered harmonies. ‘Self-Dissect’ flows smoothly from the opening track, locking into a mesmeric atmospheres saturated with lofty guitar melodies, harmonies and a dramatic ear worm of a guitar solo. Title track ‘The Shape Of Fluidity’ makes for a stunning lead single ahead of the albums release. Starting off quaint and deliberate, pulses of delayed bass synth temper the guitar chords as the massive vocal melody that makes up the chorus, rightfully, takes centre stage before a gnarled gothic doom chug bursts through the ambience and carries a steady nod across the six and half minute run.
“Easily the best production of the band’s career so far.”
DOOL’s most impressive achievement with The Shape Of Fluidity is the bands ability to intimately explore personal subject matter pertaining to Dorst’s revelation as being born an intersex person, having choices about their identity decided for them at a young age and attempting to reclaim said identity in their own image. They manage to make such specific thematic exploration as approachable as possible in a way fans can identify their own struggles with. “Imagery, lyrics, and music all flow together and pose questions about identity, freedom, life, and the will to change things that hold more than just one finger straight at the pulse of the Zeitgeist – but without ever pointing or raising it.”
‘Currents’ acts an instrumental transition between the anthemic title track into the tempered goth rock stomp of album highlight ‘Evil In You’. The track changes states, shifting between the soft ethereal verse into the rhythmic punch sing-along of the goth rock chorus, moving at an electric pace as the shortest and most straightforward track on the album. ‘House Of A Thousand Dreams’ brings the mood back down to a somber stroll, supported by a soft and impassioned string section, featuring additional raspy male baritone vocals that alter the feeling drastically, even compared to the other slow cuts on the album.
DOOL have always sounded fantastic on record, yet The Shape Of Fluidity still somehow manages to exceed the previous two albums. Continuing their relationship with excellent Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna, Russian Circles, Tribulation), taking the full control of technical side of the production, engineering and mixing the album, leaning into the subtle ambiences and thick walls of tones akin with Lindberg’s other work. This was handed off to actual factual mastering engineer legend Ted Jensen (AC/DC, Eagles, Muse, Ghost, literal thousands of credits) allowing for an unfathomably clean, crisp sonic presentation and easily the best production of the band’s career so far.
“In a way it is starting to feel like they’re filling the hole left behind by gothic progressive legends Anathema.”
First released alongside the albums announcement, ‘Hermagorgon’ is undeniably massive. Really amping up the doom energy, the pendulous stomp of the opening riff keeps things moving at a deliberate and dramatic pace. The band once again dip into a tempered verse that slowly build to another climactic and powerful chorus and explorative instrumentation used to decorate the layers behind the vocals. Aptly titled ‘Hymn For a Memory Lost’ opens with a dreams melody that deteriorates and glitches into the song proper; the melodic gothic doom instrumental bubbling beneath another impassioned vocal performance. Album closer “The Hand Of Creation” brings the pace to a crawl, purposefully languishing, curating an atmosphere of despair with the dissonant chords and vocal delivery drenched in longing and sadness for a former self who was never truly known.
The Shape Of Fluidity is a stunning effort. The band for the most part have stuck to their core amalgamation, yet with a decidedly poppier approach, focussing even tighter on melody and hooks alongside approachable song structures. The tracks are still lengthy, but there is a bewitching consistency to them, laden with hooks and memorable melodies or drum patterns. In a way it is starting to feel like they’re filling the hole left behind by gothic progressive legends Anathema. The depth of the themes managing to tackle intimately personal conversations in a universal approach of struggling against a world seemingly not built for individuality is empowering and inspiring. Much like staring into a constantly moving body of water, it is easy to lose yourself in the fluid motion of this album; fifty minutes cascading by swiftly, leaving a strong lasting impression musically and emotionally.