Voidsphere, To Infect | To Inflict, Germany, Amor Fati Productions, AFP 251 CD / vinyl LP (2023)
Like its sibling projects (Arkhtinn, Hwwauoch, Mahr, Pharmakeia) in the Prava Kollektiv circle, cosmic BM horde Voidsphere dropped an album “To Infect | To Inflict” on the same day (December 1) in 2023. The album is the sixth in a series Voidsphere has been releasing steadily since 2017 that revolve around a theme of empty space – the Void – in our universe being an actual sentient entity developing self-awareness and a purpose … and that purpose not necessarily being a benign one, from the point of view of Earth and its inhabitants. Like Arkhtinn, Voidsphere deals in the bleak cosmic darkspace arena of raw atmospheric BM, though compared to Arkhtinn, the Voidsphere sound (on “To Infect | To Inflict” anyway) is deeper, murkier and noisier, and bears real malice towards the unsuspecting inhabitants of this little blue planet in one of the more obscure corners of the Milky Way.
Over two long and admittedly quite monotonous tracks (“The Void Infects” and “The Void Inflicts”), the Void rises from whatever passes as its deep slumber and expands across the cosmos, absorbing all that happens to be in its innumerable paths. Grinding, scrabbling tremolo guitars and flippy rapid-fire percussion, along with crashing cymbals that bring a factory-like ambience, form the foundation for this insidious entity to pursue its aims. In the far background, tortured vocals scream and howl in agony. Keyboard melodies have a tone that seems antiquated, as if they have always existed since the beginning of time, and their coldness emphasises the indifference of the Void towards its victims. As the guitar riffs and synth melodies continue, they take on a demented air. Some listeners might also detect a whiff of corruption, which would not be surprising in an entity that may have existed even before the universe was created billions of years ago.
Of the two tracks, “The Void Inflicts” seems more melodic and more structured with definite guitar riffs and symphonic keyboard drone-wash melodies, and the repetition of these helps give the track a clear identity. A real sense of sadness and perhaps even grief is present early on, before the music enters a dark and sinister trance-like phase. The spirit animating this track forces it to keep advancing, even as the music becomes more and more an endurance test through its unrelenting monotony and bleakness. The mood becomes ever gloomier and more downbeat, and it’s possible that the Void, whatever it is, may be developing some empathy for its victims … but being what it is, it must carry on devouring planets and stars and nebulae for its own survival. In its last few minutes, the track does veer perilously close to a maudlin weepy state with pained synth melodies even as the guitars continue their unmerciful shredding.
The single-minded obsessive nature of both tracks helps keep them on the straight and narrow path over their lengthy playing times, and in spite of their monotonous natures they never slow down or lose focus. The repetition increases their intensity as well, and the music becomes more hypnotic. It’s easy to imagine the musician/s behind Voidsphere being caught up and trapped in this mesmerising maelstrom, in effect becoming the Void’s messenger/s tasked to deliver its terrible message to humanity.
A solid effort overall, though for me this album is not quite so enjoyable as Arkhtinn and Hwwauoch’s December 2023 releases. I guess though, that with a series of works around an abstract entity whose self-awareness and consciousness may be hard to fathom or even at a primitive stage of development, the music must reflect to some extent that being’s evolution which might explain the monotony.