Victory Over The Sun - Dance You Monster To My Soft Song!

Fool's gold falling through my hands.

(Originally published to the Metal Archives on February 7th 2024) 

It’s scarcely been 2 years since the release of the excellent Nowherer, but that didn’t stop band mastermind Vivian Tylińska from coming out with her fourth release. Victory Over The Sun always explored uncharted territory since its inception, and Dance You Monster to My Soft Song!, along with its mouthful of a title, are no different. If anything, it represents the biggest sonic leap the band has made since its inception, and it’s one I am pleased to say turned out great.
One could describe this release as “avant-garde black metal”, but the truth is it doesn’t get anywhere close to describing just how much is going on here. Yes, there’s dissonance in spades here, exactly what you’d expect from the tag, but it feels more like a template for Vivian to apply some truly iconoclastic ideas, even by the genre’s standards. Though some aspects of Nowherer remain, such as the shimmering arpeggios on the monumental “Thorn Woos the Wound”, the rest has twisted and morphed into something entirely different, evidenced not only through the new instruments that have been added, but also the new sonic deviations that take place here.
Indeed, this is an album that can be defined as a stylistic potpourri, one that borrows from music outside of metal, but much to my shock it actually remains coherent and doesn’t feel like a compilation of ideas that were never given much thought as to how they’d fit. Whether it’d be the industrial churn of “Wheel”, a tune that despite its suffocating atmosphere ends on something that can only be described as “dissonant bliss”, or the post-punk-cum-jazz flavours of “The Gold of Having Nothing”, it all just works. Usually such crossovers feel like a scatterbrained attempt at being quirky and experimental, but here these genres are made to fit naturally within the context of the record, an admirable achievement in and of itself.
And to think I haven’t even touched upon the instrumental contributions of all the guests who appear here. Dance… features brass and wind instruments, all of which make an appearance on select moments throughout, with a trumpet and a saxophone injecting a further dose of chaos on “The Gold of Having Nothing”, while a clarinet features on the lumbering closer “Black Heralds”. That last tune in particular is a standout, primarily because it’s an excellent showcase in how to pace a long song. Tension rises and falls constantly, all while managing to maintain its flow without feeling aimless, and that final climax after a dark and almost gentle section feels like a punch in the mouth. It’s the perfect moment to end the album on, ending things on just as high a note as they started.
I would be remiss not to mention the lyrical content presented within, seeing as I always found it to be one of Victory Over the Sun’s more fascinating aspects, despite its commitment to esotericism. Dance... appears to wallow in fading memories, passing images and metaphors of someone who has long since left, and despite the weight they were around Vivian’s neck, reminiscing about them seems to provide some hints of comfort. At the same time though, there is anger that wells up underneath, coupled with a resignation towards the inevitable fate that awaits everyone. Further adding to this imagery is Vivian’s vocal performance, her tormented howling echoing in the distance, unceasing in its intensity. It’s less so something you’re meant to fully understand, but instead feel, and that makes it quite interesting in its own right.
I honestly didn’t expect Dance You Monster to My Soft Song! to overshadow Nowherer in the way it did, but I’m more than glad to admit to having put my foot in my mouth here. It’s a daring experiment that launches itself into the stratosphere from the word go and somehow manages to stick the landing with little, if any turbulence. I will admit that it’s a little pretentious, and the genre safari definitely won’t be for everyone, but those who have the patience to spend time with it and uncover all of its intricacies and layers are in for one of the most rewarding black metal albums of 2023. Victory Over the Sun is the only reason I haven’t completely discarded the concept of “transcendental black metal”, and I can’t praise the band enough for that.
Highlights: Wheel, The Gold of Having Nothing, Black Heralds

Rating: 95% 

  

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