Published: August 26, 2013

When the world ends, will you fight it, or let the tide take you under?

Doom has always been ‘one of those genres’. A whole lot of give, equal amounts of take, it’s fair that metal has developed over the years, after all it’s the most expansive musical genres ever to grace the earth. With all of metal’s sub-genres there’s some that just simply sit on the fence between two or three. It’s like a traveler not knowing which direction to go, but is happy no matter what direction the journey may just take. Vin de Mia Trix is one of those acts. Why? Well, it’s comes down to an excellent show of musical awareness, thinking outside of the box without over doing the end result. ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ shows an encapsulating display of deathened doom metal, making enough headway to ensnare the listener. The album is a showcase, of grandeur, atmosphere, wanderings from one style to the next and yet, it feels completely natural. This is something you want from an experimental metal album, and it’s something that Vin de Mia Trix do well.

At the album’s core, it’s highly atmospheric, at almost no point does ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ lose the attentive atmosphere created throughout the release. ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ flows, taking a doom-y road to nowhere. Eight tracks of stunning, contrasting funeral doom that finishes with a run-time of over an hour, it’s fair to say there’s a lot of content. The music is intricate, deep and complex. The twists and turns are enough to keep the listener constantly guessing. From deep growls and drudging, low end riffs to psychedelic free jazz noodling, ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ is as expansive as the genre stereotypes would suggest. It’s a combination that works for this act. You might have guessed it, this isn’t a simplistic or droning funeral doom piece. Instead it relies on post rock structures and smooth, ethereal cleans to emote the lyricism behind the instrumental aspect rather than the slow, deathly march of some of the genre’s heavyweights.

The music might not grab you in an instantly cohesive manner on a first or even second listen. It takes time for Vin de Mia Trix’s ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ to take hold, being three years in the making, the band wanted to make a statement, real and relevant. ‘Once Hidden From Sight’ is a swirling, expansive display of melodic blackened funeral doom that has a tendency to noodle in and out of the listeners’ sub-conscious.  There’s a whole lot more than meets the eyes, or the ears for that matter. Vin de Mia Trix’s debut full-length doesn’t break any boundaries, revitalize a genre or three, or innovate anything new for the extreme metal genres. At least at its core, the album is strong, and for what it doesn’t change in the genre it makes up with incredibly strong song-writing, flamboyant phrasing and excellently presenting contrasted sections. If you’re a fan of funeral doom, black metal, dark metal, post metal — any other amalgamations of those combinations, this is something well worth your time.