Review for the latest EP offering from Voidkeeper titled, Eternal Decay, available now, right here!
It's cold empty stare mesmerizes you, locking you in it's stare. It's chilling emptiness beckons to you uncontrollably. Is this the end of things? Or is this the beginning of it all? The beginning to the end of an eternal decay of life all around us that brings the never ending cycle of rebirth from destruction, the painful end of life and transference of dying to the pains of being brought into this world again, kicking and screaming. The Void, In all its otherworldly splendor knows not friend nor foe, but sees all as simply being a part of it. now, have you ever wondered what the audible experience would be like if you could sit and listen to the world being both created and destroyed at the same time in a never ending blood curdling cycle? Voidkeeper from Massachusetts seems to have put pen to paper and thoughts to musical melodies in an attempt to reveal the musical workings of the cosmos of madness.
King Ov Locusts is a fantastic foray into the styling of this musical venture. The fuzzy riffage messages your inner ears as you bang your head along to this opening tracks insanely heavy and groovy tunes. It's welcoming to hear the traditional fuzz of doom metal, stoner, or sludge metal be utilized with blackened death metal styles. Voidkeeper definitely has their own unique style that they have tuned in to. Heavy as all hell riffs with skull pounding drum work under a vicious vocal attack the likes of old Mayhem and Darkthrone. This is the type of music that you'd love to experience live to get the full effect. The opening track right here would wreck the stage without a doubt!
Next is the single off of this release called, Bog Monster. A bleak trek through the swamp is how I would describe this one. It has almost a serial killer stalking you kind of vibe to it, like the music is trying to emulate a chase scene or being followed by something that you know is out there but you simply cannot see it until it's too late. Some rather genius drumming comes into play during the songs mid section playing along with some creative riffing that bounce between time signatures flawlessly. Tremolo picking melodies and riffs dance between the moon light and the bog water as the creature hunts you to satiate it's hunger for flesh. This was a really fun song to listen to I must admit, so far, I am really digging Voidkeeper's style. Bog Monster's structure is a eye opening approach to the awesome blackened thrash metal styles that are found in classic bands such as Witchery or Summon. Voidkeeper takes those styles and flips them on their heads with their own unique style, tosses in some bleak black metal, and features guitar tones that I can't get enough of, seriously, go listen to their music, you'll immediately understand what I mean here.
Tears Ov The Witch is next and it opens with a banger of a phrygian riff melody that sounds absolutely killer at high volume. I really love the bass work in this song, complete with a nice bass solo that blends so nicely like butter in a simmering sauce, it's just fanfuckingtastic, Cliff Burton would be proud! This song is simply a enjoyable experience through the entirety of it, It has it all, great riffs, solos, you name it, this song has it! Sometimes a songs simplicity is its high point, and this song features the tried and true metal songwriting formula, and that's not a bad thing at all when said formula is accompanied by killer riffs that really drive the point home. This one is perhaps my favorite track off of this release, it really scratches that old school metal itch, but we still have two more tracks to enjoy, so let's crack a cold one and continue on to find out.
The fourth track, Celestial Tombs Ov The Fallen Ones starts out a bit slower than the other tracks with a boot stomping rhythm before the fullness of the guitars come in to play. These guys tones that they have achieved on this recording are, once again, truly something to behold and appreciate. The guitar is both rich and raw at the same time as they blend in the bonesaw sounds and cavernous vibes of old school black metal, blends it with the bottom ended death metal assault, sprinkles in old school filthy thrash metal riffing, and somehow still polishes it off by adding that doom/stoner sludgey fuzz, it really is hard to describe, but is a treat to the ears for sure! Couple all of that with their unique guitar playing style, and you have a melting pot cauldron of fiery tunes that just bring a smile to this metal heads face. Celestial Tombs Ov The Fallen Ones is by far the most fleshed out track of this release so far. Several moments of changes and feelings within this songs innerworkings and a few tempo changes add to it being a stand out track here that showcases their song writing capabilities. Great job guys, you knocked this one out of the boggy park!
The closing and title track, Eternal Decay is a lengthy journey that takes you through several emotions from beginning to end. A dark and brooding landscape is set before us as this song opens up, bringing with it a foreboding sense of, "all is not well here" and changes gears and creeps into more intense riff work once it gets your hairs standing on end. The dance between tempo changes and atmospheric black metal and, dare I say, a feeling of dark southern rock makes for a very unique song here. The fact that this is a instrumental lends to the music's creativity in this song as well, it allows the musicianship to really stand out and shine. Several emotionally powerful guitar solos are strewn about the musical canvas while the riffs tug and pull at you this way and that while simultaneously gluing it all together, a rather fitting approach to the music here since their band name has the word, "void" in it, this song plays nicely to the themes of a void ripping apart and putting things back together in a endless cycle of birth through destructive forces. This was a great way to close out this EP.
As the curtain closed on this release, I found myself wanting more. Voidkeeper definitely have a way to really get their tentacles into you with each and every one of their riffs and songs. They need to be heard a few times over out of sheer enjoyment. The fact that they were able to fit so much into just five songs is most impressive, many bands who try to sandwich together this much music and creativity tend to have it all become lost in translation. That isn't the case here at all with Eternal Decay. Every song stands on it's own while also seemingly feeling like each song is a piece of and a part to a puzzle, and it all makes sense once you hear the closing track where it feels like the strings are all pulled together to tie it all up. It's quite interesting, and I honestly can't say enough about the rich tones they have captured on this recording that truly compliments their blending of musical styles. This band is the entire package. I'd wager that you'd be hard pressed trying to find another band like Voidkeeper doing it up like they are with their music out there. This album is a strong 8.5 out of 10 release and a serious showcase of what Voidkeeper are capable of. Give them a follow on their social media pages to show your support and also grab this EP up off of their band camp right here to help them out, this release will definitely fill the... void, in your music collection.
