Divide & Dissolve - Insatiable [CD]

The title for Divide and Dissolve's new album, Insatiable, came to Takiaya Reed in a dream. Themulti-instrumentalist and composer had a vision of a better world, one that gelled seamlessly with theoptimism of her take on doom metal: "I saw people committing great acts of harm never being happy,and people committing great acts of love, always being happy," she says. "People are constantly feedinginto this genocidal energy, depleting all of these resources in the name of so-called power, just to end uppowerless. Whereas people feeding into pathways of love and decolonial energy, honouring loving andbenevolent ancestors, experience such a deep sense of fulfilment." For Takiaya, this is what it means tobe "insatiable"; it's the way we choose either a path of destruction or one of compassion, andexperience it to it's fullest. "The album's title hits on so many levels," she continues. "It's an album aboutlove, and it feels important to tap into that, now more than ever."If all of this sounds a bit heavy, wait until you hear Divide and Dissolve's music. Already legends on theinternational doom metal scene, they are able to build upon the genre's trademark sludgy guitars andthundering drums with Takaiya's deft and wondrous saxophone, adding a layer of intricacy rarely seen indoom. Over Insatiable's 10 tracks, Divide and Dissolve run the gamut of doom metal - from theear-splitting depths of lead single "Monolithic", to contemplative, dare we even say softer moments, likeon the aptly titled songs "Loneliness" and "Grief". Divide and Dissolve are a band that have honed theirsound to a fine point, and yet continue to find new ways to evolve, both musically and conceptually. Likeall of Divide and Dissolve's music, Insatiable is almost entirely instrumental, but is able to convey deepresonance and complexity.