Review Summary: All around me are familiar Cynics...
Exactly how much an old-school death metal revival album can captivate is often simplified down to whether or not a given listener can accept the base premise: Death metal performed in the classic style, paying homage to the roots of the genre and those that planted the seeds. A great many groups of this trend unashamedly wear their influences upon their sleeves, flaunting about comparable artists in each track as though writing death metal fanfiction—this is
our original Atheist album, please don’t steal—and not caring a bit about how deep the similarities run. All eventually boils down to if the revivalism sound can be tolerated easily, no questions asked, versus getting too suspicious at the Similar Artists list and becoming removed from the experience. It’s left at the door of the listener: Are Blood Incantation forerunners of alien-centric riffage or thieves of yesteryear’s hits?
Harsh as that seems, the sentiment prevails when considering the power of inspirations on a revival record’s sound. Whereas a fair number of collectives have taken their ancestor’s output and branched further away from it to provide a more unique take—the evolution of Horrendous, for instance—plenty of fellow acts embrace their adoration for the golden-olden days. California’s VoidCeremony find themselves in this very same position of old-school worship where the dueling sides of the eternal argument are clearly heard. The relatively thin production—no brickwalling to be found here—charismatic leads, and progressive leanings are about one wayward YouTube comment away from “sounds like Death.” The primary question becomes whether VoidCeremony are able to be enjoyed without the looming shadow of their predecessors.
Ignoring any lingering conversation concerning influences and whatnot, the contents of debut effort
Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel, kept within a limited 32-minute duration, are full of engaging death metal tunes. The Ramona quartet perform a mixture of classical death metal and technical death metal, adding in a touch of doom and black metal for extra measure. This stylistic fusion lends itself to a variety of creative moments that quickly add up to a diverse experience. Look no further than the near-9-minute album centerpiece “Empty, Grand Majesty” for a textbook example of old-school reawakened in a modern environment. Opening with a strong melody that blossoms into a brief solo, the track gradually increases pace prior to a collapse into murky depths, the crunch of the guitars and the furious advance of the percussion creating a heavy, addicting sound. Not wasting a bit of its momentum, the song continues to explore its expansive landscape, cycling through a variety of unique riffs and imposing drum fills, the distinctive timbre of the group’s fretless bass resonating clearly inside the production. In the middle of the tune is an abrupt tempo change, the guitars morphing into a dissonant black metal aesthetic until being wiped away by a flurry of blast beats. Despite functioning as the longest foray off of the record, “Empty, Grand Majesty” never feels as though it wastes a second of its allotted time; the alternating instrumental sections fit together seamlessly, the detached harsh vocal performance providing an extra element to cement the dreary, ominous atmosphere. It’s a captivating audio illustration of the things that make VoidCeremony click—technicality, suitable ambiance, and compositional skills—without delving into a self-indulgent territory.
This commitment to robust songwriting is replicated in the following song, which bears the unique quality of being entirely instrumental. A menacing death metal riff races onward, pushed forth by the commendable musicianship of the percussion kit, the unrelenting speed of the tune assisting in crafting a heavy experience. The growl of the bass persists as technical passages are woven together in the midst of a furious drumming exhibition, the tempo finally being cut in half as a melodic solo bursts out of the depths, eventually giving the spotlight to some entertaining bass noodling. Despite functioning as a veritable playground for the band to wander about in, the flow of
Entropic Reflections Continuum remains undisturbed. There’s certainly plenty of credit to offer to the entries beyond these two select choices; not one included song gives a sense that it is unnecessary, nor does blending occur to any detrimental degree. In the case of concluding track “Solemn Reflections of the Void,” the bass fuels the beginning of the song, its unique quality shining prominently as a death metal riff freely gallops ahead. The overwhelming technicality of the percussion performance reaffirms itself as a definite triumph for the release. Yet even in its most forceful moments, the mix never plays favorites, allowing for contributing factors to have plenty of space to breathe without any particular element swallowing up others.
Admittedly, however, enjoying VoidCeremony’s latest may include accepting the terms and conditions associated with the OSDM movement. There’s no denying the arrangement capabilities of the group in question, but it’s also evident that a revolution isn’t on the horizon; this is an album that is in-line with its category and makes no false pretenses about it. It’s unsurprisingly straightforward to fall into the trap described wherein the seemingly derivative nature of the work at hand becomes a bit much to ignore. Searching too critically for comparisons does not for a fun experience make—quite the opposite when it weighs down too heavily. The shadowy depths, suffocating cycles of riffs, explosive drums, and alluring bass beckon for those willing to headbang extensively for the ensuing half hour of unrelenting death. It may not be the most special record to pluck out of a bag, but it’ll offer more than a garden variety product of similar content. Admirable songwriting populates the disc, moving effortlessly from one passage to the next, barraging the listener with virtuosic sections all neatly packaged underneath a layer of gloomy ambiance. Darkened melodies await around every corner of
Entropic Reflections Continuum to pull the audience in further still. With memorable portions available in surplus, ample reason remains to repeatedly return and revisit. Wayward travelers shouldn’t be too surprised when VoidCeremony’s endearing style holds them captive for the foreseeable future.
