Review Summary: Ritual.
I'm consistently amazed by how certain nuances and genres awaken stereotypes in listeners, myself included. For instance, when I see the name of this project, "Death. Void. Terror.", complete with dramatic periods and forebodingly “metal” words, my mind immediately conjures memories of Impending Doom's "Nailed. Dead. Risen." or Upon a Burning Body's "Red. White. Green." and I scoff. How tacky, I think to myself. Furthermore, the album title, "To the Great Monolith", seems like a cheap ripoff of Until Death Overtakes Me or another funeral doom release, and I scoff again. Also, because I am aware that this is rooted in black metal, I have an image of Immortal-esque corpse-paint, snowy mountains, and gimmicky images, and I scoff a third time.
Entering this album with all these stereotypes sitting in front of my eyes, I am simply humbled and terrified by the pitch-black ritual that consumed me.
The project of Death. Void. Terror. is shrouded in mystery, including its origin, members, lyrical content, and, hell, even their music. Released on Iron Bonehead Productions (home to other enigmatic projects, such as Vassafor, Temple Nightside, and Cult of Fire), debut "To the Great Monolith" consists of two tracks, simple titled "(-------)" and "(----)".
It becomes clear throughout this album’s runtime that Death. Void. Terror. exists to surpass the boundaries of genres in favor of a sound that is meticulously calculated and technical on a microscopic level but absolutely megalithic in the big picture. Consisting of a whirlwind of tremolo riffs, echoing percussion, dense atmosphere, and indiscernible shrieking vocals, there is no doubt that "To the Great Monolith" is definitively "blackened", but it would be unfair to try and mold it into the body and image of black metal. In fact, in attempts to pigeonhole or even to simply understand this album, its amorphous shape is belittled. It exists as an abyssal ritual beyond human comprehension, an expression of the unconscious, the inexpressible.
Death. Void. Terror.’s greatest strength is its emphasis in contrast. While “To the Great Monolith” employs black metal’s razor-thin and frostbitten tropes, it sounds uncompromisingly dense and grimly viscous; as a result, it gushes grime and filth while reveling in nebulous ambiguity. Its methods are furthermore undeniably chaotic and unpredictable, but there is also a strangely gentle hypnotic effect, almost a pitch-black serenity to be found. The pulsing and hollow drums are often our one lifeline to sanity, as percussion provides a structure, a skeleton if you will, to the discordant and ethereal meat that composes this beast. As a whole, the atmosphere that results from this churning and undead mechanism is overwhelmingly dense, causing us to look up at the monolith looming before us, and below at the black hell that awaits us.
The first track is a devastatingly punishing ordeal in swirling atmospheres and pummeling darkness, while the second explores more contemplative but nonetheless terrifying waters in its overlapping screaming and whimpering vocals and choking ambience. As the second track draws to a close, I could only stare in shock.
I have always strived to find an album that accurately describes the abyss, and Death. Void. Terror.’s attempt is one of the closest to sounding it. “To the Great Monolith” is challenging and dense, and it requires several listens to unearth the secrets buried within this churning ocean. However, thanks to its hypnotically ritualistic effect, intriguing contrast, and atmosphere of primordial terror, all wrapped up in a comparatively short 40-minute runtime, it is a voyage worth taking.
The grinning void has something different to say to anyone who is willing to listen.
