Depths of Dementia is a trio from Denver, Colorado who just released their newest EP, Dark. The four songs on the release are crafted tastefully with intricate syncopation, finding a way to blend grueling heavy pieces with ethereal cleans. “Run Rabbit” starts off the EP with a swift kick of bliss, bursting with breakneck guitars fueled by intricate riffs. Within the structure of the song there is a beauty to its frenetic and thoughtful atmosphere. The song’s 7 minutes run with plenty of interesting, lively progressions that make every turn more rewarding than the last.
Snapping drums, blistering guitars and a blend of multi-genres of metal make Dark a formidable listen, having moments that leave lasting impressions upon the listener. Woven into the snapping rhythmic pulse of “Of Vanity And Ignorance” are biting lyrics about isolation and depression. With the song’s harsh sound, it’s a beautiful cathartic release, especially as the song moves into the steadier progression before the high burning end.
Depths of Dementia’s fantastic orchestration and staccato progression in “Enlightenment” make it a favorite on the release, showcasing the band’s grit and knack for composing pieces that not only flow well, but add depth to the genre of metal. The emotional ring out of the sung vocals, the frantic and whirling end, the entire song is beyond beautiful. Nicolas, the guitarist and vocalist of Depths of Dementia, wrote out this exclusive track by track of their new EP Dark.
Run Rabbit
To give you a little back story, Sean and myself have been the core of this band since its inception. When we were in middle school I have memories of going over to Sean’s mom’s house and learning how to play Slayer tunes and whatever else we could figure out. We always wanted to create something bigger than ourselves and had a few songs that breached the 4 minute mark, but not much that was pushing the boundaries. Run, Rabbit was started when Sean and I had a lot of time to sit around and write music and really develop our musical identity. I came to practice with the chord progression that stars the song out and worked diligently trying to write an epic. It was our first song with a much larger scope that created a venue for our more progressive ideas to flourish.
Lyrically, the song was inspired by Richard Adam’s Watership Down borrowing the imagery of rabbits. In the narrative of the song a rabbit is fleeing the burrows and being stalked by a hawk who has preyed upon the rest of the warren. The hawk symbolizes fear in the eyes of the rabbit and the story is about being overcome by fear and eventually losing your life because of it.
Of Vanity and Ignorance
This song was written almost entirely in seclusion while Sean had moved away from Denver and the band was in hiatus. Sean came back, we got the band back together with some new material and sSean and I arranged what is now “Of Vanity and Ignorance.” This was Max’s first experience in the band, we got together and his bass playing just fit the song’s needs. I had met Max through gigs and him working at the guitar shop near my house, but he and I had a lot of things in common with a desire to make dark and heavy music. So a few months later Sean and myself had parted ways with our former bassist and ran into Max at a show, asked him to join the band and here we are.
Depression is something that i have struggled with for the majority of my life and I’m not one to shy away from admitting that. These lyrics came to me in a place that I’ve come to in my life where I feel I have been able to actualize and articulate my mental state in a tangible form. Of Vanity and Ignorance an aggressive song with that ends on the notion that it is okay to accept ourselves for who we are and take the step forward towards a better life.
Enlightenment
Max had joined the band and we played a few shows and started becoming a really tight unit. The urge to write is something that i can’t turn off, so eventually we just exploded into writing Enlightenment. It became apparent that we had found the third member and someone who could help write and elevate the band to the level it deserved. With Max taking on some of the duties of arranging, I could really take a back seat and give him room to shine as a bassist.
Sean actually told me that he was interested in writing lyrics and during his time away from the band he spent a lot of time learning how to express himself lyrically. So, I said “Fuck yeah!”, he sent me something and I loved it. In what he sent me I could see this struggle for wanting to get out of a self made prison and accept the world around you.
Chamomile
“Chamomile” is a song that I can’t remember much of the writing process. I remember the riff that is now the chorus coming about in a recording session we did in 2014 or so. Other than that the song just seemed to exist over the years, and the lyrics grew out of a period of my life where I felt like I was suffocating a lot. I wasn’t happy where I was in life and often felt like I was drowning but somehow calm through it all.
Photo by Tyler Custer
