Ελληνικά
Genre: Thrash Metal
Country: Cyprus
Label: Independent
Year: 2015
Dark Void is a band coming from Cyprus and has just released their first EP (the bands mentions somewhere that they have recorded a demo as well, but I couldn’t find it). Quite a strange case. I’m always open to new releases and frankly I’m a sucker for young bands or bands that haven’t been active for a long period of time. That being the situation and since Dark Void fulfilled my preferences, I thought I ought to give them a chance. Ehm; for many reasons that was a mistake.
Chapter One. They call themselves a “badass thrash” band. Wait… what? Who are you? Megadeth? Overkill? Sodom? Let’s be realistic. It’s really hot outside and these statements cause heart attacks. No, you’re not a band active since 1985; no, you haven’t released tons of albums; No, supporting Sepultura doesn’t mean you’re born out of filth and finally, no, you haven’t a fanbase bigger than Nuclear Assault.
Chapter Two. When Dark Void announced the release their debut EP, they described their influences “from Slayer to Vivaldi”. Could you please inform me, which parts are the ones influenced by both Slayer and Vivaldi? I’ve got a feeling that Metallica seems to be a more suitable influence. Slayer was / is a raw powerful attack, filled with unholyness and blood-spiting riffs. That’s not the case here. As far as Vivaldi is concerned, my guess is that the band thought it could baptize their intro, called “The Awakening”, as a Vivaldi-influenced-classical-piece. Well, no. Playing without distortions and having a melody (which reminds us of that pieces a gang plays during summer nights on the beach) does not automatically mean that classical music is your spring of inspiration.
Chapter Three. The genre Dark Void chose to serve, is modern thrash metal. You don’t expect ultimate riffing, complex compositions or the new Sandoval behind the skins. Nor you expect what the band served us. It seems that the record has a riff leitmotif, constantly repeated, as if all the tracks are one. The rhythms are so predictable; I found myself imitating the drums without knowing their pattern. Same thing applies to the guitars, only here there’s a small dosage of the well-known non-inspirational-pill, distributed by many behemoths of the thrash industry nowadays. Let alone the fact that the album’s title is based on one of the most discussed and used themes of all time in metal history.
Chapter four and final. The vocals of this EP are the salt on Dark Void’s wounds. Both the way they are executed (well, this term can be literally applied) and the way they’re mixed / mastered cause excruciating pain to our ears; they don’t fit the genre, they don’t fit the style; they’re simply wrong.
I know you’ll thing I’m being harsh and coming down hard on them. Some of you might say that the weak points of this album are excusable and can be justified by the young age of the lads. Others might say that I avoid supporting local / small bands for some peculiar reason their minds created. Well, look at the fucks I give. The fact that Dark Void’s members are young, doesn’t mean that they do not know what goes around the block or live in a cave with no internet connection. Since they’ve decided to record and generally produce an album is a reason to give them an honor medal, but is no excuse for its low quality or lack of inspiration, especially nowadays, when the access to new information, material, bands or whatever, is instant and approachable by everybody, anytime. I really hope for them to prove me wrong. Finally, support what suits you and gives you goosebumps and shivers down your spine, not everything coming in a fancy wrapping.
1,5/6
