Running Ever Deeper...

Yawning Void - Streams Within (2019)

Following up on a couple of advance singles released last year, the Finnish group of Yawning Void have emerged with their first full album, and while it first popped up on a limited cassette run from Kuolema Records back in January, they've recently received a CD release from Weird Truth Productions, giving them some wider exposure.

The first of the album's five tracks (all of which run over seven minutes) is “Hearts Like Abyss”, which leads listeners into the band's black/death/doom cocktail with an enticing ear-worm of a lead riff. The vocalist (credited as K.T.K.) shows off a good rumbling growl and satisfyingly harsh roars, while the rest of the band brings in some tight support for that hooky riff, quickly digging down to that heavy reward. “Melaina Kholee” follows, broadening out the heaviness from the riff (though it does feature a solid one) to a more rounded song-writing approach. Things are kept slow and sloggy, but it moves with a deceptive swiftness for its length, and wraps its run up with surprising neatness for such a craggy piece.

“Ouroborean” takes central spot, contrasting the harsh vocals (taking overlay in the mix) against some almost gentle melodic highlighting, while the following “Kalmoranta” brings the harshness over to the instruments as well, with some organ-like keys providing the cleaner counter-point to the fuzzy feedback. Wrapping up with “Aequor Benthic Bodies”, Yawning Void push their way through a thick atmosphere of dread and regret, leaving an aftertaste of earnest and committed doom. Not too shabby for a first album, and considering the striking knack of the band for crafting memorable riffs, I can't wait to hear where they grow from here.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Deathbell, Heavydeath, Jupiterian, Major Kong, Shrine of the Serpent

Facebook • BandCamp

Yawning Void - Melaina Kholee (320 kbps)

~

The Great Enchainment...

Earthling - Spinning in the Void (2017)

I first heard Earthling when Forcefield Records was kind enough to include a promo CD copy of their first album, Dark Path, with one of my orders. I eventually listened to it, and shortly after that, ordered the vinyl. That first album has continued to grow on me with every listen, and I've been waiting for this follow-up to emerge for quite a while. Now that it's here (four years after that debut), I'm thrilled to hear the band still going strong, with some adjustments and experimentation finding their way into the band's blend of black/death/thrash/doom (and just a touch of well-handled power metal).

Leading with “Clay in the Hands of Evil”, Earthling load the bases with touchstones of the full album, including sharp guitar shredding, ragged growling howls, quick shifts of rhythm and tempo, and some deviously gnarly riffs. From there, they build up more and more venom with the songs, carving away, laying down hard beats, hammering and smashing when needed, and gradually reducing the amount of breathing room listeners are given. That control of intensity is a welcome retainer piece from the first album, and while the group doesn't follow the same arc of rising abandon for this set of six songs, they do bring more power to the music with each successive track. It's not just in the escalations of speed, fury, drum-pounding, and general volume, but (perhaps) most effectively in the way the instruments join together to hit a commanding, keening focus of tone and style.

I could go on about the other great parts of the album (like that suspension tension to the intro of “The Helm” – oof!), but taken out of the actual experience, the words just wouldn't be doing it justice. To make it simple, if you dig on high-power metal fierceness that doesn't feel the need to restrict itself to just one of the style's sub-groupings, grab yourself a copy of this album (and the first, while you're at it). High quality, showing signs of good growth while retaining the essential character, this is a sophomore album to inspire envy in similar bands and solid replays for fans.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Atrocity, Battle Path, Lesbian, Necrophobic, Weapon

BandCamp

Earthling - Obedience and Decay (320 kbps)

~

Annelids And Ladders...

Palace of Worms - The Ladder (2016)

Palace of Worms' first album since 2010's Lifting the Veil (though a couple of splits were released in the interim, including one with Mastery, who guests on a couple tracks here) finds the one-man band drawing influences from a wider range, with death and doom joining the black metal base, while atmospheric touches of neofolk, symphonic metal, and more add further layers of complex moodiness.
Deep and haunting riffs meld well with the more savage outbursts of violent shredding, the drums are applied strongly to both moroseness and madness (with the complexity they get to show in the slower sections kind of stealing the faster sections' thunder), and while the timbre of the vocals doesn't change that often over the seven tracks of the album, it's worked into the compositions in forms that allow it to rage and wail in diverse ways.  Some carefully-rationed use of backing vocals helps lend a bit of extra suffering and majesty to the proceedings at points, while slow-paced bridges amplify the sense of desolate longing.
It's a very well-assembled album, and while there is a bit of disjunction from track to track, that kind of helps set each track apart as its own distinct experience.  Vinyl copies can be acquired through Broken Limb Recordings, digital copies through their BandCamp, and the cassette version is available through Acephale Winter Productions and Sentient Ruin Laboratories.  Good stuff, though not the easiest starting point for those new to blackened metal.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Abstracter, Alraune, Earthling, Heavydeath, Uroboros

Broken Limbs Recordings Store • Sentient Ruin Laboratories • Acephale Winter Productions BandCamp • Broken Limbs Recordings BandCamp • Palace of Worms BandCamp

Palace of Worms - Wreathe (320 kbps)

~