Vorum - Poisoned Void

By Natalie Zina Walschots. [Back in May Vorum released a great new EP, Current Mouth, on Bandcamp. And now that Finnish label Woodcut Records is on Bandcamp their 2013 full-length is also available:] Though Finnish death metal band Vorum have been

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here by Exclaim.

[Back in May Vorum released a great new EP, Current Mouth, on Bandcamp. And now that Finnish label Woodcut Records is on Bandcamp their 2013 full-length is also available]

Illustration by Alexander L. Brown

Though Finnish death metal band Vorum have been together since 2006, Poisoned Void is their first full-length, following the Grim Death Awaits EP in 2009 and the Profane Limbs of Ruinous Death split they did with Vasaeleth in 2010.

Poisoned Void makes good on the promise of a thick, palpable foulness their earlier material hinted at; the atmosphere of this record is all about murk, density and viscosity. The pace is unrelenting, from the battering drums to the angry, hornet-swarming guitars, all smothered in fat, dank distortion. The tone has an almost sumptuous violence to the texture, like being hit by heavy leather with some proper muscle behind it.

"Thriving Darkness" has a sinister, writhing quality to it that makes it a highlight, and the titular track is fierce enough to raise welts. While the sheer thickness of the tone can be smothering now and again, this is nonetheless an extremely promising piece of classic death metal delivered with a sadistic streak.

Label Spotlight: Dark Horizon Records

By Steven Leslie. ounded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1996 by Andy Newton a.k.a. Lord Typhus of US black metal crew Typhus, Dark Horizon Records specializes primarily in underground black and death metal. A fantastic split from two bands that need no introduction to fans of underground barbarity. Both bands showcase their specific brand of war metal on this split

By Steven Leslie.

Founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1996 by Andy Newton a.k.a. Lord Typhus of US black metal crew Typhus, Dark Horizon Records specializes primarily in underground black and death metal.


A fantastic split from two bands that need no introduction to fans of underground barbarity. Both bands showcase their specific brand of war metal on this split, originally released in 1999. Black Witchery kick things off with a wall of churning guitar riffs, relentless blasting, crashing cymbals and pissed of screams. One of the best things about any Black Witchery release, this one included, is the vocal performance put in by Impurath. His vocal phrasing and the cadence of his delivery adding an additional rhythmical element to the music, making each track that much more impactful. He never fails to find that sweet spot between guttural death metal grunts and harsh black metal shrieks. Black Witchery offers up four tracks and fittingly cap off their end of the split with cover of Blasphemy's "Demoniac". Underground war metal legends Conqueror continue the relentless audio savagery with four more tracks of ruthless desecration. J Read’s unstoppable blast beats providing the backbone for Conqueror’s inexorable attack. Read is a legend for good reason as it is a rare thing to hear so much variety in drumming this fast. Brimming with vitriol, Conqueror unleashes a barrage of lo-fi sonic violence that few can match. Tornado like riffs swirl around laying waste to everything in their path as Read’s hate-filled screams eviscerate any living thing left standing. There is nothing subtle about either band here; this is war metal after all. Considering how difficult it is to get ahold of Conqueror releases, this is a must have for anyone who considers themselves a fan of bestial metal of any variety.




Another classic war metal band here also featuring the talented Mr. Read. Revenge somehow manages to push the audio violence to levels even beyond that conjured by Black Witchery or Conqueror. Never straying from grind-like levels of intensity, you will be happy that this is only about 17 minutes long. Not because it isn’t absolutely killer, but because you will finally be able to catch your breath. Read's vocals are genuinely psychotic. You can feel the hatred dripping from every single syllable. It sounds like the speakers are going to blow out at any given moment. Bands like Revenge are generally pretty hard to review because there really isn't a single part of the music that stands out. Everything from the guitars to the drums and vocals are designed to crush every bone in your body. And that is exactly what this EP will do. When you absolutely want to destroy every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitute.




Hailing from the Netherlands, Sauron have released three superb full lengths of fairly traditional black metal. Originally released in 2003, Universe of Filth is their first and arguably best album. Storming out of the gate with wonderfully catchy guitar lines and relentless blast beats, "Sauron.Death.Squad" sets the tone for the next 33 minutes. While later albums focus more on satanic themes, this beast of an album is dedicated to war. And a fitting soundtrack it is. While the pace rarely changes, Sauron does a great job of writing riffs that are actually memorable despite rarely changing pace. Eclipse’s vocals deserve mention as well. While he follows the traditional black metal template, he injects enough venom into his deliver to make him stand out above the masses of second wave copycats. Those of you who are fans of Panzer-Division era Marduk will find a lot to enjoy about this monster.




Taking a slightly more experimental approach to their black metal, Hordes of the Lunar Eclipse unleashed this, their first full length in 2003. This band sadly flew under most people’s radars when this album was originally released and haven’t gotten the recognition they rightfully deserve. Unlike a lot of the drivel that was being passed off as black metal in the early noughties, Hordes crafted memorable songs and managed to inject enough originality into their music to stand apart from their peers. Constantly shifting and warping from one minute to the next, this album will keep you enthralled from start to finish. Dancing is overflowing with ice-cold tremolo riffs and disturbing grunts all wrapped in a remarkably sinister, occult atmosphere. This again is one of the few bands of this time that was writing memorable riffs, where you could actually distinguish one song from the next. While the production quality does leave something to be desired, there is quite a bit of quality to be found here. Anyone who missed out on this gem first time around would be advised not to sleep on hidden gem.

Label Spotlight: Apathia Records

By Kevin Page. French label, three French bands, each one different and odder than the next. Let's find out... Existing since 1994, this is Orakle's third full length album. They are labeled as atmospheric black metal, which I find strange. Maybe they were previously, but this new album is firmly in the avantgarde, progressive death metal-ish camp

By Kevin Page.

French label, three French bands, each one different and odder than the next. Let's find out...

Sculpture by Robert Le Lagade

Existing since 1994, this is Orakle's third full length album. They are labeled as atmospheric black metal, which I find strange. Maybe they were previously, but this new album is firmly in the avantgarde, progressive death metal-ish camp (with maybe even a little experimental stuff thrown in for good measure). The vocals at times have that black metal vomit, so there's a hint of it here and there, Ultimately, you are going to find them more in line with Opeth and even Tool, than anything else. That might scare some people off, but don't let it, since they are not a clone by any stretch of the imagination. The strange tempos and time changes make sure to give this a character all it's own.

Artwork by Michael Yee

Earth's Disease is the sophomore effort from this self proclaimed hypnotic dodecatonic black metal band. Yeah, I had to look up the term dodecatonic (which refers to the twelve note piano scale) and still don't understand what they mean. This is black metal, but like most things from France these days, it by no means follows a well established path. There's some proggy stuff going on no doubt, at times you can hear a Deathspell Omega guitar twang, yet its strange enough in its own fashion to stick its neck out. Julien Payan (guitars) and Marquis (bass) of funeral death/doom band, Ataraxie, are featured here on guitars and vocals, respectively. The vocals are thoroughly tortured and strained. There's also some old school Victorian horror movie sounding cello used to wonderful effect as well.

Artwork by Julie Gagne

And for our final and most wonderfully weird entry, we have Pryapisme. These "genre by damned" chaps combine 8-bit gaming, world beats, jazz, island sounds, dance beats and orchestral pieces you'd hear on a movie soundtrack, into this non-disjointed hodgepodge. The band states this release is about space, cats, and house rent. It’s not a full-on metal assault by any means and much less "metal" than their previous album, Hyperblast Super Collider (which was a fabulous), but that doesn’t make it any less potent or interesting. No amount of me describing it will truly due it justice, You'll just have to give it a listen for yourself. And once your brain is fried, feel free to sit back and enjoy a complete classical re-orchestration of the EP as an included bonus.



[Check out more bands from Apathia Records on their free label sampler from 2013.]