Darkness Within - DIION

Release date: 19-05-2023

Darkness Within released their first EP ‘DION’ last year (read the review here). This year the band is back for more with the second part, aptly named ‘DIION’. While playing a lot of shows all over our tiny country, the band still found time to create and record some new music. DIION gives us 3 new tracks that take us back to a few decades ago where, in the band’s words, “Metal was still made of metal”.

Oddball

Darkness Within is a bit of an oddball. The band labels itself as heavy and dreamy Doom. The heavy part in that description fits well: The vocalist sounds like he could be in a heavy metal band. Some of the riffs are definitely heavy metal as well. But there are moments where it turns progressive like early Dream Theater in vocals and songwriting as well. Especially the vocals in for instance Wildfire remind me of early James LaBrie. The Doom part isn’t always as present though, but you can certainly hear some Doom influences. In for instance To Eternity the Doom is much more on the forefront.

DIION

The production and mix are so-so. The drums are too far in the background for me and don’t cut through as well as they might on stage. Also, the vocals sound muddy on some tracks. However, taking into consideration that this is a home-production by the band, it’s pretty decent. It also adds to the 90’s vibe the band wants to portray, as back then most albums that got released were of questionable audio quality anyways.

DIION continues on the same path as DION started a year ago. The 80’s/90’s influences are heavy, the vocals still carry the rest of the music, and there are still some pretty awesome guitar riffs to be found. DIION actually includes the 3 songs that were on DION originally, so we’ll only discuss the 3 new songs in this review.

Onto the tracks

Wildfire is the opening track to this EP. It starts energetically and the vocals on this track, as well as the sudden tempo change and the vocal harmonies, reminded me a lot of early Dream Theater. There are a lot of changes in this track, and has some heavy metal and doom riffs mixed in as well. I think it’s the most versatile track on the EP, and because of that, to me also the most exciting. At 6.42 it’s also the longest track. Guitar virtuosos Tim and Gregor take the time to shine in the middle as well. We are even treated to a nice headbanging riff.

Warrior starts off with a clean guitar and a riff that takes the band in a gothic direction. That only lasts for the 1 minute though, then we’re back to heavy metal country with squeals in the right places. It’s pretty straightforward from here on.

Winter in Mind is a mid-tempo track. The track starts with a heavy metal riff, broken up by a darker chorus. Because the riffs repeat a lot, you get an almost hypnotizing drone. It ends with a nice melodic guitar solo, that takes the whole track from a depressing track, into a more uplifting tune.

Final thoughts

When DION got released, I wasn’t that excited about Darkness Within. However, with the release of DIION, I’m starting to appreciate it more. It won’t be in my top 5 albums of the year, but Wildfire is a track that I can see myself playing every now and then. I like that this band tries to do something different than all the other bands out there, and I must applaud them for that. Although I feel like the EP would benefit from a re-mix and master, the quality also adds to the atmosphere. If you are into bands like Black Sabbath and DIO, make sure to give this EP a listen. At 33 minutes, that gives you just enough time to finish your lunch.

Tracklisting: