DEAD VOID - CRANIAL DEVASTATION (DARK DESCENT RECORDS/ME SACO UN OJO, RELEASED JUNE 5TH, REVIEW, DEATH DOOM)
In the land of the swamps, there is a barge, a vessel, operated by Arm Pit Jim, if you find yourself unfortunate enough to be a passenger, it carries you, and other poor souls along a winding brown liquid river, accompanied by floating bottles of p*ss. In some parts of Bog society, its revered as one of the greatest living art pieces in our world. Dead Void's Cranial Devastation is as equally gutter drenched and captures this experience perfectly by throwing bestial riffing and vocals to the forefront with heinous drums.
The crushing riffs on Cranial Devastation are
like a slow churn, but prepare the listener for the mid paced sections and the onslaught to come, then return to the brooding
heavy doom. Vocally, very clear, but not clean singing, so the monstrous voice serves
to transport us into pure audio metal terror. The track structure is good and
consistent moving from the already described imposing slow sound engulfing the
air itself; to timely reintroduce the classic beastly sick vocals sounding like such a creature waking up in a castle to discover someone has painted the
walls violet, and he’s not very happy. They are imposing, dominant, but yet don’t
detract from the instruments, woven together nicely.
There is an influence present from a notable Death Doom band
on some tracks, which Bog could hear, but Dead Void have enough variation
in composition to be distinct, and whilst it may not be revolutionary to some
ears, the artist does a solid job of playing dirty Death Doom to a pleasing
standard.
For example, at one point, Bog felt like they were trapped in a fat man’s ass in a sauna, which the heavier mosh parts represented the tempo and panic involved with escaping such a situation, if that helps give y’all an idea of how gutter Dead Void’s music sounds.
Cranial Devastation contains good variation overall, drumming transitions, and suspenseful moments building the ominous edge of your seat vibes. Audio quality is good and the track arrangement strengthens those qualities throughout the album.
Rating: Imagine you were eating a sandwich in a
shithole, a dilapidated apartment, there is a zombie licking grime from the
kitchen floor. Already you are regretting signing the rental agreement with
Swift AF Simon. Unbeknown to you, there is a bucket of puke not so securely
hanging above you, the rope snaps, and the contents wash over you, causing you
to wretch, and vomit. Consequently, carrots are in the jet stream leaving your
mouth, they are flying through the air, and become stuck on the walls. The zombie
in the kitchen gleefully looks up towards the new decorations, its tongue hangs
down, eager to test the new wallpaper. This is how unapologetically
disgustingly the sound is on Cranial Devastation. Blissful.
So, Cranial Devastation is a dirty album; it won’t be for everyone, especially those preferring non-stop brutality, or faster paced music, but Dead Void respect and play the Death Doom genre well with a level of grime inspiring an unfiltered enjoyable listening experience.
https://deadvoid.bandcamp.com/album/cranial-devastation
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dead-void/1432734782
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2lvbc1f8fB81yeZurz3UfD
