Yes, it hit me hard when French Post Metal/Sludge metallers DIRGE announced their split-up only four months after their seventh record, the critically acclaimed Lost Empyrean (out December 2018). They quit on a high note, so to say.
For 25 years DIRGE have been around. I got to know them in the middle of their career, when their 2004 record And Shall The Sky Descend was re-released in 2007, followed by the stunning Wings Of Lead Over Dormant Seas a couple of weeks later, which I took to heart immediately and rated with ten out of ten points. To me a masterpiece till today.
In their 25 years spanning history, DIRGE developed from Neurosis mini-me's (how I called them first) to an excellent Post/Core/Sluge/Metal band with a very own and unique style, defining this new genre back then right from the beginning. For 25 years the French guys were known for building up all destroying sonic guitar walls with a heart-wrenching melancholy and desperation set to music. Every record of them reviewed on NH got the highest rating as it was supposed to be the magnum opus and so I will go on with this extensive gem. It is not just because I love this band and its music, it is not just because to honor them, it is because this 3 CD/LP package is worth it in every aspect!
Unfortunately, I have seen DIRGE playing live only once. It was in 2011 when Elysian Magnetic Fields was released and the band toured Germany for the very first time. I remember it was a legendary night in Berlin ;)
Well then. Two years after their official breakup, DIRGE return to the (symbolic) stage one last time to bring their era to a worthy end. Vanishing Point is a retrospective collection of unreleased tracks, remixes, live recordings and rarities, put in chronological order with almost 3 hours of playing time and an extensive booklet.
Vanishing Point is a journey through the entire history of DIRGE and their musical development. It is like to watch… um… to listen to their magical metamorphose from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Vanishing Point kicks off with recordings from early demo tapes, which are pretty Industrial-driven. Ministry and Godflesh come to mind. Opening track Wounded Chakras emerges to be a highlight directly at the beginning. Just awesome!
East marks a first turn in the band's progress as Industrial influences disappear and guitar walls and long instrumental passages (or whole tracks) are built. Another leap in musical evolution follows towards atmospheric dense soundscapes, and epic musical sceneries with classic low and loud dynamics. The 15 minutes running Submarine could be the precursor of the brilliant Epicentre from the outstanding Wings Of Lead Over Dormant Seas.
To recognize the The Cure cover version of A Short Term Effect is a challenge. Much easier it goes with the remix of Picores Meure Menace. I really like Time Oscillations, Absence, Distance and the Post-rocking A Rebours as well as the dark Hosea 8:7.
The last two tracks are live recordings that are worth one record alone with almost 45 minutes. There is no big difference to the album tracks. The sound is rougher, more organic but there is no "live feeling", no sound of an audience. Closing track The Endless is almost twice the running time of the original and has some kind of jam character.
Of course, it is not really difficult to find out, why some of the tracks did not find its way on the particular record, but it does not narrow any bit of its quality or finesse.

Vanishing Point is a fantastic compilation, one last gift to every fan of the band, a final testimony, spanning the entire career of the band brought to an impressive end. Too bad that DIRGE did not receive the success they would have deserved but they leave a mark in the metal scene and seven great records plus one EP, demos and this compilation. Definitely a must-have for fans of the band and the genre but Vanishing Point is also an interesting object to see how a band can grow and develop over the years.