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VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel review




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Reviewer:
8.0

42 users:
7.26
Band: VoidCeremony
Album: Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
Release date: June 2020


01. Desiccated Whispers
02. Sacrosanct Delusions
03. Empty, Grand Majesty (Cyclical Descent Of Causality)
04. Binded To Unusual Existence
05. Abandoned Reality
06. Solemn Reflections Of The Void

I remembered seeing this when it came out and thinking "Ah, another doom-tinged OSDM album from 20 Bucks Spin". Boy, was I wrong.

Though it's not like the label is known exclusively for it, a lot of the releases in the past year have been exactly doom-tinged OSDM, and the label itself might have fed the wave itself instead of simply profiting from it. And though some of those OSDM releases did border on tech/prog death, none of them do it as much as VoidCeremony. This being the band's debut album the reputation of the 20 Bucks Spin label preceded their own, but they did seem to have quite a few EPs from as far back as 2014. I did manage to check the most recent of those, and while it's perfectly fine, VoidCeremony is one of the best examples of how to make a jump from the demo/EP phase to the full length one.

Though the progressive and technical nature of the album hits quite instantly, one of the most memorable aspects of the album, and partly why I decided to revisit it so much time after its release, is the fretless bass. I was surprised to learn that on this album it is not performed by the band's bassist, who doesn't participate on this recording at all. Instead the bass is played by Damon Good of Mournful Congregation and Cauldron Black Ram, the latter of which also released a damn great album this year. Normally I do not start the meat of a review with the bass playing, and if in a prog/tech album it is the standout, you bet it's damn good from Damon Good. Sorry.

Of course the bass is not the only exceptional instrument performance on the record, as I doubt Damon would've sessioned for them if they weren't exceptional as well. The vocals are probably the least interesting part of the record, most of them being in the one-note low-to-mid range growls, but they do their job quite well regardless, and the variation in the instrumentals more than makes up for it, especially considering how many instrumental moments there are. There's a lot of fluidity in the flow, and the band knows how to switch from pummeling and simpler to nauseating and intricate quite well. And the slightly rawer production definitely helps it to feel more organic. And as much as I though my initial assumption that it would be "doom-tinged OSDM" was shattered, the extreme emphasis on progressive songwriting didn't completely eliminate all tinges of doom, thankfully.

Probably the thing that really works best for VoidCeremony, besides the aforementioned fretless bass, is the balance they maintain between the simple and the technical, they know when to show off, when to slow down, when to show a whirlwind of notes and when to just blast beat you into oblivion. As a result, the record definitely feels longer than its barely-over-half-an-hour runtime.






Written on 15.10.2020 by Doesn't matter that much to me if you agree with me, as long as you checked the album out.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 74 users
15.10.2020 - 19:47
Rating: 8
DarkWingedSoul

Will check it out for sure after reading the review, multumesc
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15.10.2020 - 20:46
Rating: 6
musclassia

Tried it, sadly can't say I liked it - a bit too much going on without anything satisfying really landing
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15.10.2020 - 22:01
nikarg

I absolutely loved the fretless bass, it made me add it to my reviews queue but somehow the album as a whole did not stay with me and finally decided not to do it. It felt like the songs were not really going anywhere, the album is technical and progressive but without memorable songwriting. Everyone should give it a listen just for the bass alone though. While you are at it, you might appreciate it more than me for the reasons that Radu mentioned.
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15.10.2020 - 22:19
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by nikarg on 15.10.2020 at 22:01

I absolutely loved the fretless bass, it made me add it to my reviews queue but somehow the album as a whole did not stay with me and finally decided not to do it. It felt like the songs were not really going anywhere, the album is technical and progressive but without memorable songwriting. Everyone should give it a listen just for the bass alone though. While you are at it, you might appreciate it more than me for the reasons that Radu mentioned.

I suddenly remembered this album and was surprised not to find your review of it, since I remembered you having it in your queue. I wanted to review it back when I first heard it but saw that you had claimed it. Guess it wounded up back in my hands

I see the point about the lack of memorability, but this is something I don't prioritize as much since I rarely revisit metal albums anyway.
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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15.10.2020 - 22:30
nikarg

Written by RaduP on 15.10.2020 at 22:19

I see the point about the lack of memorability, but this is something I don't prioritize as much since I rarely revisit metal albums anyway.

Interesting. I rate albums based almost solely on the revisiting power they have on me.
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15.10.2020 - 22:50
Rating: 6
musclassia

Written by nikarg on 15.10.2020 at 22:30

Written by RaduP on 15.10.2020 at 22:19

I see the point about the lack of memorability, but this is something I don't prioritize as much since I rarely revisit metal albums anyway.

Interesting. I rate albums based almost solely on the revisiting power they have on me.


Feel like how much I would like to listen to something again is pretty critical to how I feel about it
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16.10.2020 - 00:25
Batlord666

This confused me quite a bit, turns out I mixed up VoidCeremony with Void Rot, who also just released an album.
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16.10.2020 - 11:08
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by musclassia on 15.10.2020 at 22:50

Written by nikarg on 15.10.2020 at 22:30


Interesting. I rate albums based almost solely on the revisiting power they have on me.


Feel like how much I would like to listen to something again is pretty critical to how I feel about it


Not sure if they're exactly the same thing. I don't necessarily remember any melodies from a lot of the albums I reviewed, but I'd still like to relisten to them. It's just that my listening routines are kinda neurotic and I revisit stuff too rarely.

So if I decided to revisit this one so much time after first hearing it, I suppose that criterion is met.
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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