REVIEW: Pridian - Venetian Dark

Estonian quartet Pridian have hit their stride on Venetian Dark, the first album under their new name, giving a spaceship metalcore energy - complete with seamless programmed elements and soul searching, heavy soundscapes. Venetian Dark is textbook in the best sense of the word; it takes what the listener looks for it metalcore and does it with ease.

Album opener ‘The Downfall of Apathy’ starts with a beautifully chopped violin before morphing into that textbook metalcore sound, hitting its ethereal stride with a little help from the electronic plucking programmed into the back of a heavy hitting soundscape, then follow up ‘Cyanide Dreams’ gets straight into it with screamed vocals before resolving into a gorgeous blend of celestial ambience and deep bass riffs. 

The LP really hits its stride in ‘Out for Blood’: proof of concept with the full integration of the celestial electronic elements and an addictive electric guitar riff reminiscent of Sempiternal-era Bring Me The Horizon. The vocals pull no punches until the programmed bridge offers the perfect breather, before a screeching breakdown that nearly sent this laptop across the room. ‘Out for Blood’ came, saw, and sent it in a timely fashion, then had its baton picked up by ‘Darker Tides’ - from standout lyric "the waves of time are crashing over" to the nautical vibes in its opening verses. It’s second half breaks things down with military style drumming and a broken vocal backing, that captivates without commanding too much attention; a pity it finished on a fade out. 

Pridian have mentioned Sleep Token as a favourite in their own listening habits, which can be heard in ‘DINY’ in its synthy beginnings and vocals mixed into a whisper for its first minute, but Robert Leht’s drumwork is the highlight for this track. The hidden snare within a double bass line is always a hit, but the entrancing drum and bass influenced double bass buildup into the treble heavy solo searches for its resolve in a way that is hard to ignore. The whole track is an ode to angst that doesn’t take a breath until its end, and is one of the standout on the project overall.

At the midpoint of this album comes single ‘Near Dark’ - an easy rock radio or release radar hit with its pretty metalcore sensibility, followed by ‘Ruin’, opening with a Gregorian chant style vocals and yet more pretty drums before a well executed 180 into a thrash style offering, then ‘Idolust’, the best named track on the project that gives off bags of Wage War energy to be heard throughout the rest of Venetian Dark. 

As for the second act of Venetian Dark, ‘Void Renaissance’ is the standout. It has the most party energy with its fast tempo and lightly distorted swinging guitars in the beginning, then taking a detour into deathcore before falling into a sinister void in its third act, utilising an eerie piano melody to keep the time on its final breakdown and finishing on said eerie piano. ‘Void Renaissance’ lures the listener into a sense of security before pulling them into this creepy space for but a minute, which makes it effective in the sci-fi worldbuilding; in something as large as space the black holes are never too far away.

‘Synthetic Salvation’ is here to show off Pridian’s programming skills in an ambient track before rounding out the project with ‘Convoy’, coming in with a cyclical sound and a track that reminds the listener of Periphery in its build and screeching electric guitar melodies, though the choice to mix the vocals under the instrumentals here does leave something to be desired. The release closes with ‘Endless’: proof first of all that Pridian have their intros perfected, while bringing back the Wage War energy in a punchy take-no-prisoners finale where Laur Lindmäe hits the guttural screams in a welcome surprise. The sinister vibes from ‘Void Renaissance’ make a return for the last act of ‘Endless’, this time through the Gregorian chant and the piano atop a double bass workout that breaks for a second before swelling into a second but equally sinister finish. 

All in all, Venetian Dark is a playbook on electro-infused metalcore: gorgeous melodies matched with deep soundscapes that are emblematic of what listeners look for in metalcore, matched with programmed elements that accentuate instead of overpower and add to the sci-fi worldbuilding that Pridian have constructed. No frills, some flare, and a solid listen. 

Score: 8/10

Venetian Dark was released on May 16th 2025.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Pridian