ALBUM REVIEW: Void Ritual – Death Is Peace

Here I review American Black Metal band Void Ritual’s new album “Death Is Peace”. A note I must add is that all proceeds from revenue are donated to a charity for women of native culture to be protected, a very nice deed of the band, and while it will not effect my review of the music, it is a respectable cause that I felt I must inform any readers of.

1. Given Unto The Water starts the album off with some tranquil and beautiful acoustic guitar playing, with a feel more akin to indie than Black Metal, it sets a calming and peaceful atmosphere. The pace grows into more folk territory when the distortion, blast beats, tremolo picking and screamed vocals kick in. The production is excellent (except from the vocals being slightly too quiet). Full throttle Atmospheric Black Metal with a really wide soundscape full of melancholy takes place and there is such an unrelenting feel of emotion in the music. There is plenty of melodic parts drawing a definitive folk music influence which sound absolutely gorgeous. There are elements of chaos to the later parts of the song but it does not stray too far from the stylistic point they built it upon. An excellent first piece of music and introduction to me as a first time listener.
2. Death Is Peace continues right away in the vein of sombre and heartfelt Black Metal melodies. The guitar riffs are really pleasant to listen to, the drums are brutal but in a way that is not overbearing and the vocals really cut through the mix nicely on this song and are more audible. The remaining folk tempos and progressions are really easy to listen to and the music is incredibly rich in tone. The drum fills are absolutely killer and really unique with variation that stops the beats becoming stagnant. The higher register guitar notes really soar through the song and give it so much more energy and life. Once again a wonderful piece of music.
3. The Howling Darkness comes in with more ferocity than the previous songs and a refreshing change in pace. It really shows when a band have bothered to change up the sound and style of their music throughout writing music and I really appreciate the effort in staying original. The song is really well written with some strange but awesome choices in progression and timing. There is a far more aggressive feel to this track and while remaining melodic it seems more like the more primal early Black Metal bands, but having said that, keeping tons of unique elements this band have already seemed to claim as their own such as the technical drumming and more upbeat guitars. This song is more appealing for fans of bands like Marduk or Dark Funeral as opposed to the earlier songs being more like Winterfylleth or Woods Of Desolation. All the same it is equally great and a welcome change in atmosphere.
4. A Sunless Dawn opens up with stunning lead guitars over a once more, melancholic background. The song is upbeat yet mournful, a mix that is contradictory in a way that can sound really amazing, such as in this case. The vocals have a really cathartic ambience to them which sound incredibly personal and filled with real effort. There is both sorrow yet joy in listening to the way this song progresses, and it really is fascinating how the 2 emotions work so wonderfully together. For anybody who does not know, I like music such as Black Metal to be full of catharsis, energy and real emotion rather than something made without though, this music really summarises that well. Excellent and beautiful melodies and one more fantastic track to an already amazing album.
5. In The Depths begins with more clean guitar, ambience and a real break in the albums full on approach. There is a certain moment of solace in that, as it allows the listener to restore their sensitivity to the more extreme parts, which quickly ensue. There is so much aggression but also a seemingly increasing level of melancholia in this particular song. It is reminiscent of all the incredibly emotive and unique things I love about Black Metal and a song I think, if any from this album, should be widely checked out. There are elements drawn from 90s Scandinavia, but also the more depressive bands in the genre and something very modern and unique. While there is dissonance and ugliness, there is also harmony and peace, the sheer contrast of this music is amazing to witness. Wonderful songwriting once more and a really confident and self-asserting piece of music.
6. Loss (Pt. 1) is the final piece to this 6 track epitome of artistic brilliance, and it introduces itself with dark and menacing guitar work and a really unsettling feel. There are plenty more atmospheric and melodic guitar parts laid carefully over blasting and pounding drum programming. The vocals once more are really grim and wonderfully done. The song is probably the anomaly in sound of the album, it is a really unique and strange piece bordering on the more Experimental Black Metal side of things, but with plenty of traditional ideas used too. An awesome closing piece !

This is a release I sadly imagine will go under many Metalheads radars, but I implore all fans of Atmospheric Black Metal, with tons of melody to check this out. It is a really unique and tasteful gem hidden deep without the underground US Black Metal scene. Excellent work throughout. The guitars sound perfect and full of melody, the drums are really well programmed in a way that sounds completely organic, finally the vocals pack a forceful yet withheld punch that works very well with the instrumentals.-8.5/10