Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole review
Band: | Emptiness |
Album: | Nothing But The Whole |
Style: | Avantgarde metal, Blackened death metal |
Release date: | May 27, 2014 |
A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. Go And Hope
02. Nothing But The Whole
03. Behind The Curtain
04. All Is Known
05. Tale Of A Burning Man
06. The Past Is Death
07. Lowland
There's been a lot of blackened death craziness being served up lately in our beloved metal genre. Within the past two years especially, it seems like the style has been seeing a return to form of sorts, with the likes of Bölzer, Teitanblood, Diocletian and others dishing out albums that are pleasantly old school, yet with a delicious modern twist. Of all these bands, however, it is probably Belgium's Emptiness who stand as the most immersing and emotive of them all. Their 2014 album encapsulates this idea perhaps better than ever before, and is nothing short of excellent.
I've always been of the opinion that blackened death is at its best when combining the brutality of death metal with the all-encompassing, often trance like nature of black metal, something that seems to actually be an uncommon formula among many of its bands. Emptiness have taken to this approach somewhat in the past, but Nothing But The Whole feels as though it has finally blossomed in full, with quite splendid results. The atmospheric nature of opener "Go And Hope" sets this mood immediately, making it quite clear that with their fourth full length, Emptiness have evolved into a much more sophisticated songwriting, something far beyond the typical raging nature of the style from which they come.
At many points this heightened sense of atmosphere, as well as the more moderate pacing of tempo that comes with it, makes Nothing But The Whole feel more black than death, especially on "All Is Known" and "Tale Of A Burning Man." However, this can be a bit misleading, because throughout the album Emptiness also flirt around with crunchy riff delivery, drum patterns, and a particular style of guitar leads that all bear an unquestionable death metal influence, such as on "The Past Is Death." This is quite an interesting compositional structure, as it challenges listeners to rethink the blackened death style, and proves to us that there are many influences a band can take from death metal besides pure speed. The production on Nothing But The Whole is nothing short of superior as well: crisp and enveloping, and with an amazing bass that gets plenty of room to rumble along on its own during some of the more relaxed passages.
Furthermore, Nothing But The Whole is nothing short of a mature, engaging album, and could quite likely be the best of the band's career thus far. With their fourth release, Emptiness have put down some of the brutal cliches of extreme metal and are focusing more on how to channel the particular "feels" of both black and death metal into a single, quite astounding whole (and nothing but!). The only complaint I find myself having with this album is that it's good to the point of possibly being unable to be matched in the future, and when that's your only displeasure with a release, you know you've found a gem.
Surrender to the whole.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 9 |
Songwriting: | 9 |
Originality: | 9 |
Production: | 10 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | 18.06.2014
Comments page 2 / 2
- 1
- 2
Comments: 43
Visited by: 359 users
Auntie Sahar Drone Empress |
angel. Evil Butterfly |
Zap Guest |
Auntie Sahar Drone Empress |
Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite |
Auntie Sahar Drone Empress |
Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite |
Zap Guest |
Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite |
X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff |
Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite |
Erik M. |
Zap Guest |
- 1
- 2
Hits total: 7969 | This month: 15