Void Rot “Telluric Dismemberment”

    A couple years ago Void Rot released their monstrous sounding debut full-length album, “Descending Pillars,” which was well received by the extreme metal community. Fast forward to now and Void Rot is back with a brand new EP titled, “Telluric Dismemberment.” The new EP features a brand new track, a killer Amorphis cover and three live tracks that were recorded as part of an exclusive CVLT Nation show. 

    This Minnesota based death doom outfit really impressed me with their debut album, “Descending Pillars,” because I honestly could not believe the monumental destructive force that this band was capable of conjuring up in regards to their compositions. From the bludgeoning drum parts, to the cataclysmic sounding riffs, this band means business and never seems to compromise when pertaining to their abhorrent extreme metal vision. 

    The brand new track, “Telluric Dismemberment,” is a juggernaut of savage sounding torment that conveys a merciless death doom mindset. Anytime the guitarist hits a chord, you feel the hellacious force come bursting out of your speakers along with the singer’s inhuman vocals. The entire composition brings together a plethora of deafening influences, yet I really like how Void Rot never falls victim to the generic old school death metal worship approach. This band is not reinventing the extreme music wheel by any means, but they sure as hell are leaving an impact when you listen to their music. 

    Also, I thought that the band’s decision to cover, “Black Embrace,” by Amorphis was a great choice and definitely makes since given how Void Rot at times reminds me of Amorphis. Although, I will say that Void Rot was able to make the song sound even darker than the original and the recording was very raw sounding. The three live tracks are also very impressive and it gives listeners the opportunity to hear how this band is able to perform live. “Descending Pillars,” “Liminal Forms,” and “Inversion,” are three solid choices, but I would say that my favorite out of the three is, “Descending Pillars.” During the live version of, “Descending Pillars,” you just feel overwhelmed by the drummers bombastic and aggressive style of playing that adds such fearsome energy to the overall apocalyptic sound.  

    Working with Everlasting Spew Records, Void Rot looks to be releasing this EP on July 22nd, so make sure to order yourself a copy. Also, the band will be going on tour in Europe with label mates, Burial, which is great for all those European fans (Hoping a US tour is maybe in the works as well). Anyway, I am glad to hear that Void Rot is continuing to record and release more malevolent skull crushing extreme metal music, and I really hope when they have time that they can record another full-length. If you thought the first album was inhumanely brutal, then just wait for what they might do on the next album!

Check out the song “Telluric Dismemberment” below: 

Everlasting Spew Bandcamp:

https://everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/telluric-dismemberment

Voit Rot Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/voidrot/

Goathammer & Empty Chalice "From the Chalice of the Goat"

    Canadian extreme metal bands, Goathammer and Empty Chalice, join forces to unleash a blasphemous assault of agonizing black metal upon the world with their brand new split, “From the Chalice of the Goat.” The songs on this split are inhumanely brutal and both bands prove to be fiendish forces with their sights set on crafting decimating compositions for listeners to become immersed in a sea of suffocating darkness. 

    Now, I am rather familiar with Empty Chalice having reviewed their debut EP, which I highly recommend people check out if they have not already. I think Empty Chalice does a tremendous job constructing raw old school sounding black metal, while also not becoming victims of that generic worship black metal sound which ends up becoming forgettable after a couple listens. With this split being my first introduction to Goathammer, I was really impressed by their sound and I liked the band’s savage old school approach to creating riffs. The band does an excellent job with their recordings by creating a vivid sounding ritualistic atmosphere. 

    Goathammer starts the split off with the song, “Sulphuric Breath of Astaroth,” which features a ferocious opening composition. The band’s drummer really unleashes a flurry of destructive sounding rhythms from behind the kit, thus sending a devastating shockwave across the musical landscape for the guitars to hammer out some sadistic sounding riffs. Also, the band’s vocalist delivers the lyrics with such malice and disgust that you cannot but relish in the hellish insanity that comes out of your speakers. The band also cover’s the song, “Disintegrator/Incinerator,” by Canadian death/thrash legends Slaughter (Not to be confused with that crappy hair metal band Slaughter that wrote some dumb song about flying with angels). I thought Goathammer did a solid job with the cover, especially in terms of how it complimented their overall sound as well as their malefic extreme metal mindset. 

    Empty Chalice contributes six tracks to the spilt with the first being, “Lamentations,” a very haunting introduction track that features a phenomenal acoustic guitar piece. From then on the band tears through short yet extremely unforgiving sounding tracks, all of which display the band’s terrifying talents. I would say that my favorite song from Empty Chalice was, “Poison (Venenum Est Numium),” primarily because of the ominous sounding introduction. You feel as though you are entering some primitive demonic dominion as the drums and bass unleash a hurricane of deafening destruction. Towards the end of the song I really liked the frantic sounding guitar solo, because unlike some guitarists who tend to get carried away with pointless shredding, Empty Chalice’s guitarist knows how to fit a lead part into an arrangement and actually leave an impact on the listener. Overall, Empty Chalice’s songs did not disappoint and their cover of Hellhammer’s, “Revelations Of Doom,” was a great choice to have as the final song on the spilt. 

    Both bands did a tremendous job on this split and I also thought that the two bands really complimented each other well in terms of their unforgiving and ruthless styles of songwriting. I can definitely see these two bands performing live and sending black metal hipsters fleeing for their lives as the music would prove to be too malevolent for those skinny jean wearing yoga obsessed humanoids who ride electric scooters listening to crap like Myrkur. In the end, I highly recommend people check out this split if they are into abhorrent sounding black metal that embraces the old school extreme metal mentality of unapologetic artistic expression. 

Check out the full split below : 

Goathammer Bandcamp:

https://goathammer.bandcamp.com/

Empty Chalice Bandcamp:

https://emptychalicebm.bandcamp.com/

Telesterion “An Ear of Grain in Silence Reaped”

    I have always enjoyed artists that are willing to take a step outside the norm and experiment with a plethora of unique sounds. Telesterion is an act that recently reached out to me asking if I could review their ambitious sounding debut EP, “An Ear of Grain in Silence Reaped.” The band’s sound can be described as post-metal with some progressive metal/rock elements, along with some melodic doom touches. One thing for sure is that this band is very committed to creating massive sounding atmospheres where the guitars establish this dynamic layer of heaviness and mesmerizing tranquility. 

    The EP’s overall theme is based on ancient Greek rituals known as Eleusinian Mysteries, which I found to be rather fascinating and definitely strengthened the band’s approach to composing each track. When it comes to concept albums some artists get carried away, or have a hard time presenting a coherent sounding release. Luckily I did not hear any of that on this album, especially due to the fact that the overall production is rather solid and the musicianship is very tight sounding. There are moments where the riffs can become a bit repetitive, although the experimentation with different tones and guitar effects at least breaks up the monotony when needed. 

    The EP contains four tracks, “Things Done,” “Thing Shown,” “Things Said,” and “The Rharian Field,” all of which fit together like pieces to a puzzle. From the first track you find yourself walking into this massive sounding musical dimension where the band hammers away at a monumental sounding riff. I would say that the first song conveys a more doom like presentation, yet evolves into a more calming progressive metal landscape towards the end. One area of the album that I believe really stands out and impressed me the most was the ghastly sounding melodic vocal parts. For example, on the second song, “Things Shown,” the contrast between the cataclysmic instrumental arrangement and the soothing vocal delivery was something I found to be very creative. Also, the album takes on this transcendental like quality, which can most vividly be heard as the album reaches the very end with the final track, “The Rharian Field.” 

    Overall, this is a very solid release and the execution of the band’s vision I think will really hook listeners who enjoy dynamic sounding music that blends heaviness and melodic atmospheric elements together. I believe that, “An Ear of Grain in Silence Reaped,” is a great starting point for further exploration and it allows the band to determine how they wish to proceed on future releases. The album is expected to come out June 16th, so I highly recommend checking the album out once it is released. Plus, the band is teaming up with Snow Wolf Records to release the album on vinyl and cassette, so if you want to add the EP to your collection do check out the link at the bottom below the video. 

Check out the song "Things Said" below: 

Link to Snow Wolf Records Bandcamp:

https://snowwolfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/an-ear-of-grain-in-silence-reaped