Sounds of the Void: August 2022

This will be a condensed version of the blog. I do very much apologize. I had written a whole piece on a specific musical project that I have come to admire, but something happened and it did not save. I wrote a second one and it was not nearly as good. We don’t need that out in the world.

So for now, just enjoy Sounds of the Void’s very best of August 2022. As always…

Stay Disgusting.

EPs

Groaning Retch – Blended with Bile

Death Metal from Massachusets

Independent

So, a while back I came across this black metal band called Heksebald. I loved what their Instagram headline was, “WItcher-themed black metal band. Tales of Monsters, Beasts, Sorcery, Steel, and Silver. Say no to NSBM.” If you know me, that headline is everything. RPG’s nerd shit, and anti-racism/fascism all in one. I love it, and I ended up buying their complete discography on Bandcamp. Come to find out that the main instrumentalist behind Heksebald, Sean McCormack has a death metal band, and that band is Groaning Retch. A truly disgusting chugathon that can easily fit in with the Maggot Stomps of the world. The perfect blend of OSDM and that little bit of queasiness that makes death metal so great.

Ritualization – Hema Ignis Necros

Blackened Death Metal from France

Iron Bonehead Productions

A couple of quick observation’s on this one.

1. Iron Bonehead are releasing amazing albums, EPs, and Demos every week. They may quietly be the best label for this year.
2. Two of my favorite releases this year are from blackened death metal band and that’s this Ritualization EP and the full length from California’s Abhorrency.

This EP is evil. It just feels dark and punishing, and unnerving. Especially in the second track The Crown of Moloch. Lots of slowdowns, brooding tempo changes, and hellish guitar that really reigns down Hellfire onto the listener. I also love that this is a 3 track EP at just shy of 25 and a half minutes. These songs are long but if you go into them without knowing it, they flow perfectly! Also, the horrifying yet simple instrumentals tacked onto the end really drive home the horror that Ritualization wanted to put on display here.

Grotesqueries – Haunted Mausoleum

Death Metal from Massachusets

Caligari Records

When Caligari first shared the artwork for this EP, I kind of knew that I was going to love it. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover but is that still the case if you are doing it in a positive way? Anyway, they did everything right here regarding the logo and artwork. This color pallet is literally my favorite. Neon pink, purple, but then horrifying blacks and grays. And oh yeah, let’s give it an alien theme, which seems to be the theme for death metal in 2022, and I mean that in an awesome and complimentary way.

While only three songs, and at just under 17 minutes, the real reason why this was my favorite EP last month is that they lived up to the imagery cultivated within the artwork. While this is a full band that will be making their live debut soon, Grotesqueries was formed solely by ex-Black Mass drummer Yianni Tranxidis. And with that, he was also the main force behind this EP. I love that he clearly had a vision, and knew exactly how to produce that image via his art. The analytical person in me respects and admires that. The life-long metalhead fucking rages to this!

LPs

Wampyric Rites – The Wolves Howl to the Moon

Raw Black Metal from Ecuador

Signal Rex

There is just something about vampiric black metal that feels nice. There’s a melody that goes unmatched when done right, and Wampyric Rites do it right. Hailing from Ecuador, this duo, who also happen to both be in another incredible South American band, Dungeon Steel, have quite the discography under their belts after only forming in 2019. Well, I guess that is what a global pandemic will do for your creativity. With six demos, eleven splits, five EPs, and now two full-lengths under their belt they have truly become grizzled young vets. The Wolves Howl to the Moon brings out unparalleled darkness. That statement may sound mundane and cliche, but it certainly fits with the incredibly raw and almost punk nature of this project. The synths, while subtle, really do a great job of injecting that horror we all love with vampirism. An excellent sophomore full length.

Ósserp – Els nous cants de la Sibil·la

Death Metal/Hardcore from Spain

Independent

This album is heavy. And right off the bat, this isn’t deathcore in the American sense of the genre, not at all. This is something different. This distinctly has the brutality of death metal with the aggression and attitude of hardcore. The lack of the “color by numbers” approach to a band with that label is refreshing and hopefully, that hardcore death metal isn’t dead.

This album is brutal. This album is a baseball bat to the head brutal. This borders on being one of the most evil-sounding grindcore bands that have ever existed. I still wouldn’t call it grindcore, however, but it’s a pissed-off slab of brutality wrapped in barbed wire.

Toxik – Dis Morta

Technical Speed/Thrash Metal from New York

Massacre Records

I’ll share a secret with you. I always hope a band reads my words about them and smiles. I hope it makes their day. I hope they know I am not just blowing smoke and sucking up for, I don’t know, some type of clout. However, I kind of don’t want Toxik to read this. I wrote this band off. When I hear of any band that originated from this era releasing a new album, I always get that same feeling of dread that it won’t be on any remote level of what it used to be. I’m right a lot of the time, but when I chose to only be positive with Sounds of the Void, I knew I wasn’t going to talk about it.

I was wrong. This album is killer! The vocals are excellent, the guitar work is amazing, the production is perfect, and the progression is incredible. Is it a thrash album? Yes! Is it a power metal album? Yes! Dis Morta is everything you want in a metal release. They have found the fountain of youth, or maybe just the fountain of making killer music.

Dis Morta is Toxik’s first album in 33 years! Welcome back.

Ether Coven – The Relationship Between the Hammer and the Nail

Sludge/Doom Metal from Florida

Good Fight Music

It’s interesting writing about this album. If you aren’t aware, “Mean” Peter Kowalski is also the vocalist of one of my all-time favorite metalcore bands in Remembering Never. In addition, Peter and bassist Shane Nerenberg was a part of one of my all-time favorite hardcore bands in xBishopx. When I heard Peter was going to start exploring the slower side of heavy music, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but what I got was a truly emotionally rich experience that brings forth what true void is. What loss can be for some. How time will never truly heal all wounds. The reality of certain situations may not be what people want to hear.

This album is emotionally devastating. You hear that with tracks regarding Peter’s battle with cancer, and the loss of a truly loved one, and the absolute heartbreak that is endured with it. It’s not an easy listen, but I dare a band to release something that sounds this good, with as much real-life heart in it then what Ether Coven accomplished.

Blackbraid – Blackbraid I

Atmospheric Black Metal from New York

Independent

Late last year I heard an album from an Indigenous black metal project called Lionoka. The album is called Tales of Triumph and it is an excellent album that I recommend to everyone who enjoys black metal of any kind. With Lionoka on my mind a lot at the end of last year, beginning of this year, I began exploring native and indigenous music of all kinds, as I have always had great respect for their existence, but I have truly begun to see who these people are in 2022. Their lives, their struggles, their pain, and their happiness. It was inspiring in so many ways and I discovered so many great projects. One of them was Blackbraid. I first heard the single, Barefoot Ghost Dance on Blood Soaked Soil, and was blown away. I wanted more. But that’s all we had. For so long I kept up with so many others that were stepping outside of what is considered normal in our genre and thriving at it, with quiet anticipation for the first full-length album from Blackbraid.

I was not disappointed. Every track tells a story of perseverance in a forgotten existence. Even the instrumental interludes provide a backdrop of appreciation and beauty unmatched in black metal. So much of what this album is is deeply special. Much like the Ether Coven album above, this is an album that will make you feel and make you feel deeply. Love, sorrow, pride, passion, and heartache.