Music has always been a guiding beacon in this reviewer’s life journey. And how could it not? So, it was early Progressive and Gothic Rock mixed with (now) decades-old electronica that got me in first contact with one Edgar Allan Poe.
Back in 1976, The Alan Parsons Project released Tales of Mystery and Imagination. A slightly melancholic yet astonishingly refreshing record dedicated to the long-defunct writer. An ode to dark tales full of birds of death and dark musings about the House of Usher. A record that was very much way ahead of its time, and thus lost a ton of fans despite its undeniable qualities. Or it didn’t gain many apart from an elitist few. Whatever comes first, I guess.
So, here A Dream Of Poe stumbled onto our radar, this time as the moniker of a band. But more importantly, an act inspired by the writings of Poe. An attempt to live by a fantastical mirage and turn it into a storyline. And they boast an album bulkily called Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes1. A muted, mid-tempo Doom Metal and Post Doom piece that was born in the cinders of Miguel Santos‘ burnt-out home, as the lore goes. The RMR crew hears that all music was destroyed and had to be rebuilt from scratch. Except for one excellent track, The Lament of Phaethon.
The crew found a record forged with poignant melancholy that expertly mixes the wistful woe of Soliloquium and the newfound modern ways Paradise Lost lately displayed. Thus, the record delivers a delicate mélange of funeral-paced Doom and Doom Death Metal combined with a boatload of truly Gothic melancholy. Complete with a healthy dose of the usual storytelling that may sometimes go somewhat overboard (Exhorting Nightmares, for instance). And there goes the crux of the record as well. Katabasis is a soft-spoken piece, far from that in-your-face frontal attack that even very good doom pieces often cannot avoid. And that may be too gentle and hushed for many of the more hard-nosed metalheads out there.
And this means that in this extensive weaving jungle of sound bites, melodies, and harmonies, you will find harsher metal excursions. For once, expressed in more measured tones in ways this crew sometimes found in Moonspell’s softer moments. And yet, the riffs, bridges, and solos come in way meatier than expected and smoothly embed in the vocalist’s rasps and soft croons. I reckon that the tastefully integrated symphonic and ambient elements, such as the expressive violin or the haunted piano, saved Katabasis‘ bacon in many ways. It is those interludes that bestow the record with this air of quiet desperation, a sense of loss, that are only emphasised by vocal excursions into polyphonic territories that were beyond tasty (Lamia).
And thus, Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes moves toward its inevitable end. And that is when very trve terror finally meets the metal. À Medida de Damastes offers the feistiest riffing of the record. And in between the Portuguese lyrics and majestics weavy turns, the listener’s suddenly confronted with enraged emotion kinda unusual for this record. A fitting end to a story forged in fire and destruction.
And whilst we cannot judge how the original music actually sounded, the RMR crew was nonetheless impressed with the knack of storytelling, the artful songsmithing, and, finally, an outstanding, expressive, and – yes – immersive production. Katabasis is yet again one of those records best consumed in one setting. So, find a quiet moment, dim the lights, and let this miserable and dystopian tale wash over you.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Meuse Music | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 24 April 2026
- Wonder what a katabasis is? Merriam Webster will tell ya.-↩