With Chaotic Divine, REZN blew up from being a frontrunner in the psych-doom scene to paving the way on forward-thinking sound design in the genre. Shifting perspective from a purely synth-laden atmosphere, the addition of crooning saxophone across tracks introduced a haunting, trippy element that, alongside the amazing vocals, sticks with you for days after. With Solace they condense the extremely long play of their previous record into six divine tracks, that not only further their sounds progression, but really showcase the honing of their art.
In Solace, the saxophone does take a step back, replaced instead with what I’d describe as a more post-metal / sludgy sound driven through the guitars. The atmosphere has certainly changed, with synths and wind instruments making it less of an esoteric experience and pushing more emotion at the listener through the darkness of it all. With the lyrical content to match, yet again it’s a brilliant output from the Chicago-based band.
If you’ve blessed your ears and eyes, watching REZN‘s Audiotree session from 2020, you’ll know how much sound design is a focus of the band. And that is also why the opening track “Allured by Feverish Visions” is easily one of my favourite tracks is one of my favourites they have ever pushed out, despite being totally instrumental. The absolute gravitas of the guitar swells is beyond reckoning, ladling out what feels like metric tonnes of feedback, bass, and punchy twangs that invigorate and excite the mind. Playing on my fattest system, the floor shakes and I am transported to a post-apocalyptic world, REZN providing the soundtrack to humanity’s final demise.
“Possession”, the first single released from the album is a stunning look at their evolution from Chaotic Divine, which also stays true to their OG sound. Starting with what I’d describe as a classic REZN song, with esoteric vocals accompanying ambient psych metal, it slowly escalates, with extra layers folded into the sound majestically. Finally, REZN unleash one of the best post-metal/doom riffs of the year. And by fuck do they not play around, dishing out a serious helping of it, much to my delight. Nothing worse than when a killer riff gets less than 15 seconds of air time!
The reduction in the use of sax really helps set Solace apart from Chaotic Divine too, helping set each of their records since Let It Burn on its own pedestal, rather than overlapping in sound too much. Solace certainly has more energy and shifts further away from the ambient sound they really let run wild in their former record. Yet when they do dial it back, you fall into this cloud of noise that swallows you and sets your mind running in circles.
“Faded and Fleeting” would’ve been a stunning fit for the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks: The Return, and if Mr. Lynch ever does something similar, by fuck do they need a spot on the stage. As such masters of the art, the mind-bending way they take the saxophone and grip your heartstrings with its sound, amongst all the heavy is fantastic. The closer “Webbed Roots” is a bit of a head melt, feeling like two different songs at once, but acts as a fantastic closer to this psychedelic experience. Again highlighting the mastery of songwriting that REZN have become known for, it plays to all of their strengths, finishing up with a cataclysmic riff that you can happily drown in.
Solace is quite happily competing with Chaotic Divine for the number one REZN album on my side, and serves as a shorter, more energetic, and less stoney version of its predecessor. REZN are easily in my top five bands to see now, and I can only imagine the experience of seeing this masterpiece played live.
