Band:	Dirge
Album:	Vanishing Point
Style:	Doom metal, Industrial metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	March 2021

Disc I
01. Wounded Chakras
02. S.N.T.D.F.
03. Bastard
04. East
05. The Coiling
06. Submarine
07. A Short Term Effect [The Cure cover]
08. Sine Time Oscillations

Disc II
01. Meure Menace [Dirge remix]
02. Below (Twist Of The Knife)
03. Absence
04. Distance
05. À Rebours
06. Absence (Откровение)
07. Carrion Shrine
08. Incendiary Dreams [remix by Kill The Thrill]
09. Hosea 8-7 [remix by Treha Sektori]

Disc III
01. Epicentre [live]
02. The Endless [live]

Vanishing Point isn't a comeback from Dirge, merely a reminder of why they're missed.

2019 saw French post-metal force Dirge call time after 25 years, with the previous year's excellent Lost Empyrean ultimately serving as a strong swansong for the group. Dirge went out in their prime, as the albums preceding Lost Empyrean (Hyperion and Elysian Magnetic Fields) were similarly great, so when I heard rumblings of new music from the band, I was briefly excited about the prospect of the group reforming. Instead, Vanishing Point is one final denouement, a retrospective summary of their career delivered in the form of unreleased songs and hidden rarities from the band. Still, it's hard to turn your nose up at nearly 3 hours of previously unreleased music, and much of the material here justifies listening on their own merits, rather than just for the novelty value.

The compilation is arranged in chronological order, so it's an interesting insight into the development of Dirge over the years. My introduction to the band came in the form of Elysian Magnetic Fields in 2011, and there were hints of their industrial past on that record, but the likes of "S.NT.D.F." and "Bastard" really emphasize the development the band undertook across their career, with their mechanical percussion and churning guitars. Still, even then, "Wounded Chakras" hinted at the more expansive approach they would ultimately veer towards as their songwriting progressed. It takes until track 6, however, to really hear Dirge in a form that is recognizable as the band that produced Lost Empyrean; the 15 minutes of "Submarine" is an incredibly patient slow burn with very gradual intensification, as well as some nice subtle melodies slipped into the mix.

There's also some interesting oddities and novelties to be found on Vanishing Point, not least the only loosely recognizable cover of "A Short Term Effect" by The Cure. There's also remixes ("Meure Menace", "Incendiary Dreams"), live versions ("Epicentre" and a bumper version of "The Endless") and stylistic departures (for example, the ambient/noise track "Sine Time Oscillations"). It's really a treasure trove of goodies for diehard fans of the band, but for those with a more limited relationship with Dirge (for example, myself), it makes for good listening in and of itself. "Below (Twist Of The Knife)" is a great example of the menacing, at times mechanical approach the band employed even in their later years, whilst "Á Rebours" shows a more melancholic and melodic side to the group. Vanishing Point isn't necessarily something to listen to in one sitting, unless as background music, but in spite of its intimidating length, it's not burdened with filler or throwaway extras; the large majority of the tracks here justify their inclusion.

So it's not a new lease of life for Dirge, but Vanishing Point is still welcome as a source of 'new' material from the band's archives, as well as a reminder of what made them so great. I wouldn't find myself picking this over Hyperion or Lost Empyrean, but on an occasion that I fancied something else, there's a lot of satisfying material to get stuck into here.