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.
Purchase Relative Obscurity at the Hellride Music Superstore
Listen to a MP3 of Heavens Vast at the Hellride Music Superstore
Visit the Memory Driven website at www.myspace.com/memorydrivendoom
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