Voids are not an uncommon thing to discuss in metal. Somehow putting to music the vastness, the unfathomability, the colossus of nothingness is a feat in and of itself, and many have attempted to bring it to life. It’s the ultimate futility, the great vanity. While many have tried, from the mysterious Prava Kollektiv’s Voidsphere, the Swiss enigma Death. Void. Terror., and the dense death metal of Desolate Shrine or Abyssal, they are mere glimpses of the monument, the perspective of madness. When the cold nothingness attaches to the skull and does not shake, will Predatory Void provide the siren’s song sprinting to the early grave?
For a long time, Ghent, Belgium’s Church of Ra collective was the elite of extreme music, seamlessly blending multiple metal styles that sounded distinct – largely thanks to the raging successes of Amenra’s Masses. Sister acts like Oathbreaker, Wiegedood, and The Black Heart Rebellion have experienced similar acclaim, while others remain works in progress, as the work has largely drifted from the public eye. Predatory Void offers familiar faces and new names, but veterans nonetheless – Church of Ra and others alike. Taking into account this vast range, what sound can be expected from Predatory Void? Best described as blackened sludge/doom, debut Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being offers thick riffs, dissonant leads, and vitriolic vocals, through a bludgeoning patience that oozes through every orifice. Ultimately, while it introduces a bludgeoning and solid listen that conjures the void’s pitch-black vengeance, debut Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being is a tale of two very uneven halves.
Although opener “Grovel” and “*(struggling..)” might show otherwise, Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being feels like a more immediate Amenra, and best when the elements of density and sear are used in conjunction. Scathing melodic lines interplay with bone-crushing grooves, injected with the venom of vocalist Lina R’s1 caustic shrieks and devastating growls. Blackened tremolo brings “Endless Return to the Kingdom of Sleep” and “The Well Within” a vicious edge alongside earthshaking sludge, while the neck-snapping grooves of openers “Grovel” and “*(struggling..)” balance with stinging dissonance. “Seeds of Frustration” features acoustic guitar and ambient textures alongside Lina’s haunting croons, constructing an eerie environ of ritualistic frigidity. The guitar tone strikes a neat balance, as bassist Tim De Gieter2, guitarists Lennart Bosu3 and Thijs de Cloedt4 offer ten-ton sludge riffs without sacrificing clarity and tense blackened tremolo without sacrificing density. Backed by drummer Vincent Verstrepen’s5 vicious plods and ritualistic intensity, Predatory Void has a recipe for success.
The issue with Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being is that, for the statement it makes with its openers, the second act falls flat by comparison in its passive nature. “Shedding Weathered Skin” and “Funerary Vision” dive headfirst into doom-tinted menace, sacrificing the energy that coursed through the openers’ veins. They certainly have their moments, including Lina’s vicious growls and the dark post-metal guitar textures that made Amenra’s Mass series so formidable, but that’s the issue: they feel too similar to the Church of Ra’s flagship act to stand apart. “The Well Within” falls flattest, despite its similarity to “Endless Return to the Kingdom of Sleep,” because it tries to fuse the devastation with the ominousness – the result is an identity crisis. You could attribute this issue with the act’s formation itself, that Predatory Void can feel like a supergroup with all its strengths and setbacks. While Seven Keys… has its moments of brilliance at first blush, it disintegrates by the time “The Well Within” closes.
Predatory Void has a world of potential, as in many ways it balances its members’ contributions neatly, of both Church of Ra veterans and newcomers alike. While the hype is real when “Grovel” and “*(struggling..)” kick the door down with its steel-toed boot of sludge riffs, and “Seeds of Frustration” offers a fresh breed of slow-burning menace, the subsequent three tracks fall into frustrating monotony, settling itself comfortably within the cathedral’s shadow of Amenra’s Masses for far too long. It’s a goddamn shame, because the elements are there: killer guitar tone, great performances, and a monster behind the mic. But the stars align for three tracks before becoming the Church of Ra cover band; while not necessarily a bad thing, I know Predatory Void has more darkness to conjure. The void walls remain untouched by this particular entity.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Website: facebook.com/PredatoryVoid
Releases Worldwide: April 21st, 2023
