Hello out there, readers! Today our mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly grab our headphones and listen to some cosmic death metal and cosmic black metal!

Devoid of Thought – Outer World Graves (Everlasting Spew Records, 27 August 2021)

Ad Infinitum – Hypnagogic Conveyance (self-released, 13 December 2021)

Here we have the debut LP of northern Italy’s Devoid of Thought, as well as the third album from the Kentuckian single-member entity Ad Infinitum.

The former, Outer World Graves, is death metal with an interesting mixture of like semi-blackened riffs with somewhat more avant-garde-sounding angular and jagged riffs; some spots that sound slow and deliberate, but then punctuated by a random, unexpected quick burst of oddly-timed rhythms. On the other hand, Hypnagogic Conveyance sticks (for the most part) to a fairly consistent tempo, the familiar black metal “sewing machine” rhythm.

In both cases, the vocals are draped in near-infinite layers of reverb — one an ultra-deep death growl, the other a traditional blackened screech — that lends an otherworldly, spacious and atmospheric vibe to both records.

The cosmic aura is also enhanced by the huge, multi-layered instrumentation employed by both bands. For Devoid of Thought this is especially prevalent near the end, as penultimate song “Sidereal Necrosis” gives way to howling winds leading into closer “Stargrave” — which sounds exactly like its name implies, epic and immense, but gradually burning itself out until nothing is left but a dead hollow shell.

Meanwhile, their Bluegrass State counterpart tends to employ various synth drones and chords to augment the metallic elements and round out the overall sound; in fact, switching gears to leave out the guitars and drums entirely in two of these tracks (the short interlude “Tunneling” and the serene title track).

Though they may achieve it by different methods, both of these albums will ultimately satisfy any cravings for heavy music that radiates from the far-flung reaches of interstellar space.

Outer World Graves is available in physical or digital formats here or grab Hypnagogic Conveyance (stream or NYP download) here.
 

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http://devoidofthought.bandcamp.com
http://www.everlastingspew.com
http://everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/EverlastingSpew
 
http://adinfinitum.bandcamp.com