DIONISYAN is a an Italian atmospheric doom/death metal band. They formed in 2010 and released a demo in 2012. "Last Millennium" is their third full length album. What really makes this album standout to me is how well it nails down the classic 90s sound of doom, specifically Gothic and melodic death doom. Mastermind Tregor Russo obviously understands doom well and is able to honor the gods of it while still making a sound all his own.

The guitars and bass are ridiculously good as well. Riffs, riffs and more riffs. Thick, melodic and heavy but also melancholic and filled with sorrow. I am not a musician so I can't quite put my finger on it but the guitars do seem to be more involved than a lot of other doom bands.  I've no doubt that Tregor has put a progressive mindset into these songs—and it definitely shows and make the album even better.  Doom and prog are completely different genres but he makes them work together.

This unique approach to doom especially shows through on the last track "Spheres Of Hourglass," in the its beginning moments with the clean, classical guitar.  The rest of the riffs have a similar approach to them.  They are thick and sorrowful like doom should be but have the movements and precision of prog. The first track, "Dismal Emptiness," opens with clean, classical style guitar and melodic yet stone hard bass.  The guitars are melodic and fill the songs with Gothic textures. Russo's bass and drums are the back bone from which the rest of the song grows from. The choir in the beginning of "Predictions," is a nice touch and they set up the Gothic undertones for guitars to run with. I liked the mid section with the slow riffs cascading like a cold wind on a winter day.

"Cage of Eternity," is one of the darkest songs on the album, the vocals are especially vicious.  The riffs grow out naturally and take a life of their own as the song keeps adding more layers. When the music is as fluid as it is on this track, that is when DIONISYAN is at its best and most profound. I do have a couple complaints about the album. The mix is off because the vocals are buried underneath all the instruments. I'm not sure if the vocals are too low in the mix or the guitars are too high (or maybe both?) but the album needed more polish in that direction. The overall production is solid, however.

The other issue is that every track on the album just suddenly ends—it feels very rushed at times because of it. The songs are well written and complete but it seems each one is in a hurry to end. With all that being said though, this is one hell of a solid doom album and anyone who loves the 90s scene needs to check this out.