I am at odds with a lot of the staff here at Everything Is Noise inasmuch as I do not like djent. There are occasional exceptions, but i find that brand of progressive metal to be overproduced wankery most of the time. Given that this website was originally dedicated to the genre, as discussed in a recent feature, I am definitely in the minority with that opinion. I do, however, love prog rock and metal. So, when extreme metal bands take a progressive approach without sounding like pretentious mall metal, I am on board. The shining example of that, this year, has been Blood Incantation‘s Absolute Elsewhere, already garnering year-end list accolades and a logical next step in the band’s sound. It is an undeniable achievement and an example of how ’70s prog can be merged with death metal.
Before Absolute Elsewhere, however, an Italian band called Bedsore released their debut album, 2020’s Hypnagogic Hallucinations, merging vintage synths, prog rock, and death metal. That album landed in my top ten favorite albums for that year. Now, their second full-length album, Dreaming The Strife For Love, dives further into this fusion of old prog and death metal in a way that is absolutely present, a consciousness of concept that, like the prog rock of yesteryear, unveils thrilling turns and surprises with each track. This is the kind of prog-metal I can get behind.
Opening track, “Minerva’s Obilesque,” sets the vibes right away. Distorted guitars and powerful drums let you know there will be heaviness, but the organ, fretless bass, mellotron, and jazzy cymbal work lays the foundation for far more prog influence than their previous projects. the only vocals are cleanly sung female ‘ahhs’ that accompany horns, leading up to Boston-inspired crescendos. There are no chugging guitars or solos, just the scaffolding of a soundscape that feels expertly crafted and invokes intrigue as it blends into “Scars Of Light.” When the death metal vocals kick in over mostly organ, synth, and bass, it sounds otherworldly. Even when the guitars and more ‘traditional’ metal verses ensue, Bedsore have forgone the HM-2 buzz in favor of tones King Crimson would employ on their heavier tracks.
The nods to ’70s music are exhilarating, channeling Goblin, Soft Machine, Jethro Tull, Popol Vuh, and more. Flutes pop in on “Scars Of Light,” which sound wild juxtaposed to the aggressive vocals. The nearly 12-minute “A Colossus, An Elephant, A Winged Horse, The Dragon Rendezvous” puts forward an atmosphere of classic horror movie dread and adventurous awe, shifting through dynamic movements that seem to represent each creature’s arrival upon some sort of spatial plane, each introduction showcasing an array of emotions, from somber to raging. I cannot think of another death metal band that provides this much texture and experimentation to the often restrained genre.
Maybe ‘restrained’ is an odd way to describe death metal, but the traditional rules of the genre often produce a barrage of similar sounds. To be clear, no one sounds like Bedsore, in today’s metal landscape. Hällas comes close in the spacey prog department, maybe Sweven for the heavier side of things, but Bedsore have carved their own path into the surreal. “Realm Of Eleuterillide” parries from the almost whimsical to the savage, to contemplative passages with such grace and earnestness that you’d be forgiven for thinking this was their 10th album after an already illustrious career.“Fountain Of Venus” may be the best example of their songcraft, blending their approach to prog and metal in perfect harmony.
Dreaming The Strife For Love is best taken as a whole album, the tracks feed into each other creating a sonic quilt that envelops the listener in a comforting and mesmerizing statement. Their progressive excursions are immersed in metal and vice versa. Neither of these disparate elements is overly indulged in, and that in itself is a great feat. Though their approach could benefit from slightly more bookended song structures, their overall execution still places this album high in the ranks for metal releases this year and helps galvanize an approach to progressive metal that I hope continues. Bedsore are not to be slept on.
