Review: “152” EP by Dimman

Produced by Santeri Peltomäki of Entropy Studio Finland and introducing new female vocalist Jenna Kohtala, Vaasa natives Dimman have returned with their latest Melodic Death Metal offering in the form of “152”. The quintet, now comprising unclean vocalist Valtteri Halkola, lead guitarist Jaakko Yli-Sorvari, Rhythm guitarist Mikael Haapala, bassist Elias Halkola, drummer Samppa Raittila and now clean vocalist Jenna Kohtala have been releasing singles and EPs since 2014 with 2017’s “Guide My Fury” being a career milestone. In the build up to the release of this record, guitarist, writer and lyricist Jaakko Yli-Sorvari said “Capsized Reverie was composed right before entering the studio. The song stands out from the rest of the EP with its electronic elements and simpler song structure. The lyrics focus on human greediness and the harm it causes for our planet. Capsized Reverie is the first song with our new singer Jenna, who has brought some great variation for our vocal arrangements.”

The industrial overtones of “Capsized Reverie” introduction swiftly make way for some Children Of Bodom esq riffs with big synths creating 80s horror pop patterns. The unclean vocals from Halkola are amongst some of the most brutal… imagine if the frontman of German Metalcore mainstays Caliban Andreas Dörner had child with Jinjer frontwoman Tatiana Shmailyuk. That’s the level of growling we’re talking about. If the instrumental part of the track itself came from Motionless in White then their fans would be very happy indeed. The clean vocals from Kohtala add beauty to the beast and make for a melodic contrast to some of the heavier music while the solo is an interesting move, rising from nowhere and injecting majesty. Slowing down the pace for the mournful “152” which adds piano and acoustic guitar work to the riffs after a crushing meloncholy opening is beautifully done. It’s sudden move into a flourish of lead work and unclean verse makes the second half of the track like a fresh one entirely. Bridging back more gently into the acoustic hauntings before it’s epic final verse, it maybe one which takes a moment to get your head around but works incredibly well. After some beautiful piano work instrumental “The History” goes Black Metal for a section of full throttle blast beats from Raittila who is a beast unleashed for the opening salvo. Big technical leads add a sense of the epic and the song feels like a piece of cinematic art as it weaves its way into your brain.

The tale of a broken relationship “Treason” is a beautiful piece of Melodic Metal with gloriously slick leads and while a mid track blast beat flourish and solo threatens to break the muggy atmospheric with a storm, Dimman pare it back to the brooding darkness with some impressive musicanship. The absence of any unclean vocals is a chance for Jenna Kohtala to shine and while she doesn’t hit any seriously big notes, she captures a beautiful and haunting tone. As you might expect, “Entity” brings the uncleans for the opening verse but instead of going all out heavy, it cuts some more melodic tones before building into the riffs. There is a wonderful sense of the split personality with pair of vocalists taking it in turns to cut through some haunting piano work and slick leads. [8/10]

Track listing

1. Capsized Reverie
2. 152
3. The History (Instrumental)
4. Treason
5. Entity

“152” EP by Dimman is out via Inverse Records on 18th October