Memory Driven - Relative Obscurity (I Hate Records )
By Chris Barnes
September 21, 2009
Dennis Cornelius is one of the most prolific songwriters in Doom Metal
history, effectively stepping in the huge pair of shoes that John
Brenner left behind for Revelation’s magnificent 1995 release
…Yet So Far and the mind-blowing
Frozen Masque
demos. He went on to form OverSoul and release one of the most
brilliant and soulful Doom-oriented recordings I’ve personally heard
with 2000’s
Seven Days in November.
The life of OverSoul was unfortunately cut short by internal strife,
but Dennis would go on to switch from guitar to bass to play with the
legendary Victor Griffin in Place Of Skulls and record the excellent
The Black Is Never Far
album. Again cursed with bad luck, this time not being able to find a
suitable drummer in that band would have Dennis returning back to
Oklahoma. There he did a three year stint on bass with Dwell Within
before having an epiphany that would eventually lead him to form Memory
Driven… the realization that he was much more musically satisfied being
a guitar player than a bass player.
It’s to everyone’s benefit that Dennis has once again picked up the
guitar, because the first outing with his new band Memory Driven,
Relative Obscurity,
is nothing short of spectacular in all the right ways. Dennis has
surrounded himself with three other outstanding musicians (Chris
Greenway on guitar, David Newcomb on bass/synth and drummer TJ
Mansfield). Cornelius’s songs are nothing if not mercurial and epic
journeys, highlighted with guitar work marked with clear evidence that
Dennis has a new found passion for the instrument. The deep resonance
of his soulful vocals and lyrics (some of the best ones are penned
alone or in collaboration with former OverSoul and Dwell Within drummer
Patric Barrett) reveals a man who’s weathered the tempests inherit in
every life and has spent time in deep reflection if not outright
rumination. Each song is coupled by synth-driven interludes composed by
bassist David Newcomb that serve as brief way stations to reflect and
catch your breath before the next journey of melancholic melody begins.
The entire album is pieced together so skillfully and the Newcomb synth
compositions so strong as to give Memory Driven their own distinctive
sound – that’s a tough call in a genre riddled with Black Sabbath,
Electric Wizard and Candlemass clones. I hope that Memory Driven keeps
going in this direction and that we’ll hear more band-collaborated
compositions like “Ostrakon” that showcases the bands synergistic
talents as well as the singular talents of Mr. Cornelius.
Relative Obscurity is masterful, majestic and unique collection
of recordings that is on par with OverSoul, which I consider to be the
pinnacle of Dennis’s work. If progressive, soulful and moving
doom-kissed metal is your thing, you should definitely give Memory
Driven some of your time.