Shape-shifting psychedelic-doom that touches on everything they’ve done before – whilst delivering fresh riffs and stunning new vocal hooks, REZN keep innovating and colliding genres with Cycles in the Infinite Dream.
Release date: July 24, 2026 | Sargeant House | Bandcamp | Website | Instagram
Listening to a REZN album is like eating a pot of jelly beans. You know you’ll like what you’re getting, but what variety you get is a complete mystery. From their origins as a stoner band, they’ve morphed and crossed multiple genres since. Their last two albums – Burden & Solace (not including the space-doom split with Vinnum Sabbathi) saw them veer heavily into post-metal territory, as well as some of the most cataclysmic riffs the band has delivered yet.
Cycles in the Infinite Dream builds on that post-metal, but amps up the psychedelia, throwing in oodles of shoegazey moments and vocal hooks. I also feel like there’s some European prog-metal influence peeking through the doomy clouds as well, with some heavy synthesisers making an appearance to add wild layers to the music.
Something I really like about REZN is that there always seems to be a continuity between albums, with outros blending nicely with the next album’s intros. Burden finished with a riff so heavy, it originated the idea for our Riff of the Year article that we dropped for the first year in 2025. “Rites of Passage”, which opens up Cycles in the Infinite Dream, builds over its almost five-minute runtime into a riff so massive, it almost eclipses the brutality of “Chasm”.
REZN have mastered the atmosphere of their music, the thick guitar tones set the mood, whilst the oppressive synths and rich layer of drumming drive the tempo and swells of the music. Yet I think it’s fair to say that, whilst an important part of the music before, the droning, clean vocals sometimes took more of a backseat to the instrumentation in previous REZN albums. In Cycles, however, the vocals are arguably the standout performer, with hooks so brilliantly captivating, you’ll be digging that earworm out weeks after your first listen.
“Rites of Passage” dishes out some gigantic hooks within the first two minutes of the album, circling back before the instrumental climax of the album, where they smash out those aforementioned heavy riffs. Yet the real star of the show, and the single that will surely hook you and others in, is the exceptional “Cloudfall”. Preceded by a dreamy, synthesiser and saxophone-soaked track that moves through a number of movements, “Cloudfall” wastes no time getting to the point.
Huge riffs cascade against the wistful yet powerful vocals of Rob McWilliams, with the swells of energy from the instruments guided perfectly by the ebbs and flows of the vocals to succinct and powerful moments. There is both a hopeful and solemn atmosphere driven through all of the instruments, and I can’t stop going back to it.
Up until this point, you wouldnt be pushing it to say that the album is a continuation of their post-metal sound from Solace & Burden, with extra emphasis on the vocals. From “Aerial Birth” onwards though, the album dives headfirst into this excellent blend of their signature sound and shoegaze, with lots of similarities to bands like Mountaineer and even Pallbearer. Whilst it’s always been easy to drift off in a stoney haze to REZN, some of these tracks send you straight into orbit. “Escher” for example, has a trademark gazey shuffle to it, and is perfect for late-night drives with the window down. Yet there’s always a climax to the track, meaning that fans of their more punishing work never go unsatisfied.
And for a nine-track album, the longest REZN has dropped since 2020, it’s easily the most captivating from start to finish.”The Vessel” wakes you up brilliantly after the interlude track “Devotion” with massive riffs, and then “Escher” sets off a brilliant chain of songs. “Primal Thread” sees REZN bring back the primal riffage from the start of the album and Burden, before “Terra Preta” ends the album on an epic I was not expecting at all from the band. It’s super proggy, with an amazing vocal hook to close out the record. The effects used on the guitars, as well as the extra layers added, make the track all the more introspective and emotional.
As with every album from this band, the sound design and recording are out of this world. There’s so much going on and so many intriguing layers of sound that filter through to the listener so well. From car test to portable speaker, headphones to earbuds, it’s been a fantastic experience, with each layer dissectable and enjoyable across all medians. The length of the album is spot on too; you yearn for more, but it fits perfectly within a commute or dog walk. Where do they go next? More prog? Who knows; for now, drink this awesome album in.
