– March 24th, 2023 –
While the world was still in the midst of the pandemic, DVNE decided to set up a digital livestream of four songs off their 2021 album, Etemen Ãnka, as a way to finally bring the new songs to life to fans around in a safe way. The outstanding live performance was recorded in their hometown Edinburgh with the help of producer Graeme Young, who also produced Etemen Ãnka. For the first time ever, the band performed the new songs live with special guest Lissa Robertson on violin and vocals.
That live recording became the ’22 release Cycles of Asphodel, which is now available on vinyl and can be found here: orcd.co/dvne-cycles
Cycles of Asphodel Tracklisting:
01. Weighing of the Heart (Live)
02. Omega Severer (Live)
03. Asphodel (Live)
04. Satuya (Live)
You can also watch the live performance of Cycles of Asphodel here: youtu.be/cFZSXwWjLCU
Metal-Digest.com had this to say about the album that was originally released May 20, 2022:
“Focusing on just four tracks from their ‘Etemen Ãnka’ album, this isn’t an album of elongated tracks full of crowd interactions of dull, dried out call and responses or 20 minutes of drum solo that’s not even over by the time you take a piss and grab a beer. Instead, this is Dvne creatively reimagining the tracks here with the use of some tasteful violins from and coupled with the vocals of Lissa Robertson and some beautiful keyboards from Evelyn May Hedges who between them add a massively different dimension to this progressive post-metal which is guaranteed to bring in fans from beyond the usual scope of The Ocean Collective, Mastodon and Neurosis.“
DVNE‘s line-up for the live recording of Cycles of Asphodel features Victor Vicart on guitar, vocals, and keys, Dudley Tait on drums, Daniel Barter on guitar and vocals, Allan Paterson on bass, Lissa Robertson on violin and vocals, and Evelyn May Hedges on keys.
The band has some upcoming performances (see below) then are planning to enter the studio to record their 3rd album this September.
Upcoming shows:
11/04 – Glasgow, UK – Stereo
12/04 – Nottingham, UK – Bodega
13/04 – Sheffield, UK – The Corporation
14/04 – Bristol, UK – The Crofters Rights
15/04 – London, UK – Oslo
16/04 – Manchester, UK – Soup
28/06 – 01/07 – Viveiro, ES – Resurrection Fest
16/08 – Somerset, UK – Arctangent Festival
In other news, this live release also marks the second anniversary of the DVNE‘s release Etemen Ãnka. Here’s what the press worldwide had to say about the band’s well-received release…
Revolver (US): best songs right now: revolvermag.com
Metal Hammer (GER): “A balancing act between Steven Wilson and Amenra“
Visions (GER): “Sludge Light between Mastodon and Dredg” (beauty of the month)
Hardbeat (UK): TOP 10 – albums of the year 2021
Distorted Sounds: “Ultimately, this feels like a launch pad set to spring DVNE into the upper echelons of post-progressive music.“
Sputnik Music: “Their journey in search of their place among the greatest has finally come to an end. Now sit, listen and watch them build an empire.“
Heavy Blog is Heavy: “It’s an intelligent, challenging, and ambitious next step in Dvne’s career and exactly the step they needed to take.“
Echoes and Dust: “this is exciting, emotive and extremely enjoyable“
Fuze (GER): “Contender for the best metal release of the year 2021“
Betreutes Proggen (GER): “A monumental Sci-Fi movie for your ears“
About the band:
DVNE is a 5 piece progressive metal band from Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 2013, the band was then called dune in reference to Frank Herbert’s masterpiece of the same name; a statement of the band’s mutual obsession for Sci-fi and fantasy of all forms, the inspiration of which has continued to influence their music to this day.
Breaking in the scene with their first album Asheran in 2017, Dvne secured tours in the UK, Europe and US with Eyehategod, Elder, Inter Arma and performed at prestigious festivals such as Psycho Las Vegas 2018, Desertfest London 2019 and Inferno Festival 2019.
In March 2021 Dvne released their seminal second album Etemen Ãnka which was hailed by fans and press alike around the globe and hence ended up on many album of the year list which led Dvne to be awarded ‘Best Metal Act’ at the 2021 Scottish Alternative Music Awards. Following the release, Dvne has extensively toured the UK and Europe with the likes of High On Fire, Villagers Of Ioannina City and Bossk and appeared at both London & Berlin’s Desertfest editions, Arctangent Festival and Freak Valley Festival.
While the world was still in turmoil, the band decided to set up a digital live stream of 4 songs to finally bring the new songs to life to fans around the globe in a safe way. The outstanding live performance was recorded in their hometown Edinburgh together with the help of producer Graeme Young, who already produced Etemen Ãnka. For the first time ever, the band performed the new songs live with special guest Lissa Robertson on violin and vocals.
Dvne are a band of great contrasts, weaving titanic heaviness and intricate gentleness together, complex lyrical ideas with engaging storylines, and this has only been expanded upon and concentrated on second album Etemen Ãnka. “It is a very dense and layered album which will reward multiple listens, and while this is becoming a recurring aspect of our music, we feel that we went further with it this time. It’s also a very polarizing album, emotionally speaking. The heavy sections are, well, very heavy, while the clean sections are much more intricate and delicate and in a way wouldn’t be out of place in a Studio Ghibli anime soundtrack.” , explains the band. Their name is a reference to the timeless sci-fi epic Dune by Frank Herbert, this is very much a genre that they happily inhabit, and is once again reflected in the lyrical content of the record. While wanting to create a universe of their own, they also cover more serious topics related to the society we live in, and while Asheran was very much focused on their relation to their surroundings and the environment, Etemen Ãnka focuses much more on social issues and more specifically on inequalities and the human relationship with power.
Photo Credit: SHTRAK Productions
Lineup:
Victor Vicart: Guitar, Keys, Vocals
Daniel Barter: Guitar, Vocals
Dudley Tait: Drums
Allan Paterson: Bass, Guitar
Maxime Keller: Keys/Synth
Occasional live members:
Alexandros Keros: Bass
Orestis Zafeiriou: Keys/Synth
Line-Up on live recording:
Victor Vicart: guitar, vocals, keys
Dudley Tait: drums
Daniel Barter: guitar, vocals
Allan Paterson: bass
Lissa Robertson: violin, vocals
Evelyn May Hedges: keys
https://www.metalblade.com/dvne
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