Review: “Dreadfully Distinct” by Dissona

“This EP is uncharted territory for Dissona. Never before have we so strictly adhered to a thematic device and allowed it to fully take the reigns of the creation. We believe Dreadfully Distinct to be complete and powerful, a refined distillation of our capabilities to this point, and a guidepost for the future of the band. Press play and let us take you somewhere beyond, a voyage of soaring melodicism and roiling energy, violent and decisive” ~ Dissona

Active since 2006, Chicago Illinois Progressive Metal quartet Dissona are a band who have chosen quality over quantity with three very well received albums to their name in 2009’s “Ten Marks“,  2012’s self titled and 2016’s “Paleopneumatic“. The story goes that they completed the recording of album number three just as the great plague hit, making the decision to sit on the record and wait for normality to return. In the interim, itching to get creative once more they decided to write a three track EP and the focus on the pre-defined Blade Runner universe in doing so. That record is “Dreadfully Distinct”, recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered in-house by guitarist Matt Motto…

Having a trilogy of concept albums under their collective belts already, the idea of Dissona creating a trilogy of songs, each of which focus on a different character from the Blade Runner universe is one that should float fans boats. Opening track “The Prodigal Son” looks at Roy Batty, the antagonist from the original film and finds the band using voice acting for the first time. Sonically it finds Dissona embracing cinematic qualities to create a cut which sounds like it belongs to the film. Warm synths and programming intertwine with riffs and powerful bass groove before David Dubenic’s vocal gives everything an majestically epic feel that is both captivating and enthralling at the same time. This tale has the feel of a third person shooter, Dubenic wearing the characters mask and impressing with his storytelling abilities while the piano finale is nothing short of beautiful. Ethnic instruments bring “Renaissance” to life, a track that finds the band take on the character of Rick Deckard as he and Rachel escape from LA. Another powerhouse performance driven home by Drew Goddard behind the kit, it strikes a wonderful balance between the embellishments of synths and orchestration. Dubenic offers up a couple of unclean vocal moments which add contrast while the thought and vision that has gone into creating something this epic is abundantly clear. There is even a moment for 90’s breakbeats in the final moments. Lastly “Skinjob” is written about Agent K from Blade Runner 2049, a tale of the hunt with an 80’s darkwave synth pop quality, it sounds immense, almost as if it was the song from the final credit sequence of the film itself. Augmented by programming and samples it underlines the quality of the vocal performance from Dubenic and perhaps offers Northlane some food for thought [8/10]

Track Listing

​1. The Prodigal Son
2. Renaissance
3. Skinjob

“Dreadfully Distinct” by Dissona is out 10th November 2023 via Earache Distribution with physical editions available over at bandcamp.