As long as there has been art, there has been an obsession with perfectionism in art. With new technology introduced to artists comes the advancement of the debates around whether or not these technologies help or hinder, whether the spirit of the artist is present in the striving for or in the letting go of control. As a young person growing up and becoming interested in both the creation and production of music, I took a particular interest in these discussions; whether snapping to a grid in Pro Tools was “cheating,” the rise of Auto Tune in popular music, even whether or not triggered drums should be a part of a heavy music band’s recording repertoire (if you know, you know), these things, while often trite points at the end of the day, at least gave me a place to determine my own sense of direction growing up. Today, while I may be of the opinion that AutoTune is a tool that people can and have been using in creative ways since its beginnings, my aesthetic taste in music has aligned less and less with things that strive for slick production values and immaculate playing. Quite simply, I would rather listen to something that shows its flaws but displays its humanity in doing so, and Derrick Vella and Justin DeTore, aka Dream Unending, feel the same way on Certain Uncertainties, what is perhaps their most groundbreaking album yet.

Dream Unending’s music has always been a lot of things: a mix of death and doom metal, progressive rock, and ambient touches, a balancing act of lightness and heaviness, a space for emotional expression without reservation. You can call it by any number of monikers, and on Certain Uncertainties, the band use the term “Adult Contemporary Doom” as the signpost for what to expect. Here, the balance swings much more towards the light end of the musical spectrum, with Vella’s moody guitar bringing jazz and blues improvisation to the forefront, letting the explosive moments of death metal happen as flourishes around the more introspective elements this time around.

Its a uniquely different experience from a band that has seemed to constantly reinvent themselves, and this reinvention is no accident. Certain Uncertainties carries its title by virtue of Vella’s desire to use this album as a way to re-approach risk taking in music, its focus on improvisation, meandering song structures, and fresh influences all are designed to push past insecurities and deliver a genuine experience. It is this deeply human element that is at the forefront of why Certain Uncertainties has affected me as deeply as it has.

What I want from the music I listen to at the end of the day is an imperfect attempt to capture intent, and at no time more than now do I feel that is more important, when we stare down the seven heads and ten horns of the great beast known popularly as Generative Artificial Intelligence. “Yes, rejoice!” says the beast, “We’ve finally solved infinite generative music! You need never feel uncomfortable attempting to understand art again!” Never mind the fact that art has always been a communing with other minds and hearts since the days of paintings on a cave wall, we’re moving product, baby! Nothing has made me run quite as far in the other direction as the commodification of this kind of slop, pristine and glimmering on the outside and completely devoid of anything meaningful to say on the inside, the cheapening of art down to its end product without any context of who made it or what it took to make it.

So when I find an album that talks openly about its struggles to be birthed, that leaves in the awkward bits others would endlessly re-record to make picture perfect, that chooses to embrace that human element in the face of the eroding of what makes art ‘Art’, I feel a swell of hope in my chest. Perhaps that is the best thing I can say about this album. That and it absolutely fucking rocks, of course.

– Vincent

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Certain Uncertainties will be available on All Hallow’s Eve via 20 Buck Spin. For more information on Dream Unending, visit their Instagram page.