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VoidOath Premiere “Festered Sepsis Lacerations”; Ascension Beyond Kokytus Out Sept. 30

VoidOath

Costa Rican death sludge four-piece VoidOath are set to issue their first full-length, Ascension Beyond Kokytus, Sept. 30 through Cursed Monk Records and Cognitive Discordance Records. The project bears relation to the likewise-longform Crypt Monarch in guitarist/vocalist Christopher G. De Haan (who may or may not have also produced) and guitarist Jose Rodríguez, as well as Age of the Wolf in De Haan and drummer Gabriel OrtizVoidOath is completed by bassist Allan Salas — and the album follows 2020’s debut EP, Illumination Through Necromancy, which was one of any number of gruesome death-doom-infused offerings that, in that wretched year, felt just right for the moment being lived. And so I’m not just parroting PR wire info at you that you can read for yourself in blue below, Ascension Beyond Kokytus is a horror narrative lyrically, though to be perfectly honest, these songs could be about sunshine and puppies and rainbows and if they sounded like this, that’d probably still be true.

And with that bit of context out of the way, let us now consume rot. Don’t be fooled by the bit of brighter progressive flourish in the opening riff of “From Gods to Morsels (Destruction)” as the album rounds out, VoidOath are here for death. De Haan‘s vocals are either gut-born growls or far back shouts, and they occur in such a mire of low-wash tone that even when the band are playing fast — which they do from time to time across the five-song/49-minute offering — it’s hard to tell just how much the song is actuallyVoidOath Ascension Beyond Kokytus moving. Maybe that’s an exaggeration as the 15-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Orion-Cygnus Descent (Arrival)” launches into blasts and stretches of abyssal churning, but Ascension Beyond Kokytus is nothing if not exaggerated, pulling elements of sludge, atmospheres of filth-coated slow death metal and just an edge of post-metallic drone to coincide into their particular sphere of cohesive extremity. There is purpose to the music beyond backing the story being told lyrically, and as “Festered Sepsis Lacerations (Assimilation)” (premiering below) crushes as the most straight-ahead death metal inclusion — shades of un-Egyptified NileIncantation, etc. — the overarching groove would be a lifeline were it not the very undercurrent pulling you continually downward.

The last, let’s say dying, distortion of “Festered Sepsis Lacerations (Assimilation)” leads to a brief centerpiece interlude in “A Flare in Emptiness” — it could easily have been the start of the subsequent “Alabaster Ruminations (Isolation)” and I suspect from its placement and title that its use as a bridge from one half of the tracklist to the other is a momentary, almost subconscious, break from the onslaught — and the inhale before VoidOath dive back in is welcome. Vague speech, either sampled or not, tops the initial rollout of “Alabaster Ruminations (Isolation),” and what emerges after is noisier and less generally hinged, but ultimately settles after about the eight-minute mark into a steadier push, soon topped with high-blood-pressure leads and an interplay of higher throatrippers and low growls — the harmony of decay — before giving way suddenly to the aforementioned riff to “From Gods to Morsels (Destruction)” and its reassertion of marching bludgeonry. Some gallop, some push, but the balance is decisive and the judgment is harsh as VoidOath work toward setting up the all-out force of the last five or so minutes, moving from crash-cymbal-driven lumbering to start-stop hits, to squibbly gallop, a build of intensity (ha!) and a last fade of residual noise, like the threat moving away at last.

Imagine being picked up by some very, very large hand and squeezed until your ribs break and entrails come spewing out of your various orifices like so much chunky juice from a piece of fruit. So it is that VoidOath execute their debut album.

Kokytus, in Greek mythology, is one of the five rivers surrounding Hades. It is safe to assume that in ascending beyond it, one is well and truly fucked.

“Festered Sepsis Lacerations (Assimilation)” premieres below. Enjoy if you can:

Pre-Order:
NORTH AMERICA: https://cognitivediscordancerecords.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-beyond-kokytus (Jewel Case CD w/ Exclusive O-Card, Poster, Stickers and Download Card)

UK/EUROPE: https://cursedmonk.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-beyond-kokytus (digipak CD)

DIGITAL: https://voidoath.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-beyond-kokytus

PRE-SAVE: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/voidoath/ascension-beyond-kokytus

Cognitive Discordance Records, in conspiracy with Cursed Monk Records, is proud to announce the debut full-length of Costa Rica’s abysmal sludge conjurers VoidOath. Titled Ascension Beyond Kokytus, the horror-themed conceptual album will be out on 30 September 2022. For the American release, Cognitive Discordance Records (Costa Rica) is issuing a limited run of Jewel Case CDs; for the UK/European release, Cursed Monk Records (Ireland) is releasing a limited edition of digipak CDs.

The dark, heavy and melt-inducing sound of VoidOath is the outcome of their approach to illustrate diverse horror works in a disturbing, frantic and distorted way. Their first EP, Illumination Through Necromancy, released in May 2020, was well received. The San José doom monstrosity VoidOath is now poised to reveal Ascension Beyond Kokytus, their first full-length release, deep within the cold, frost and blood in the farthest and isolated regions on the planet. Ascension Beyond Kokytus is based on John W. Campbell Jr’s Who Goes There? (Frozen Hell) and its adaptation of John Carpenter’s film The Thing (1982). Dwelling on deep feelings of fear, despair, loneliness and horror, the album drowns its listener in seamlessly endless waves of crushing violence and noise.

Track Listing:
01. Orion-Cygnus Descent (Arrival) (15:45)
02. Festered Sepsis Lacerations (Assimilation) (6:31)
03. A Flare in Emptiness (0:31)
04. Alabaster Ruminations (Isolation) (13:23)
05. From Gods to Morsels (Destruction) (12:52)

Produced, mixed and mastered by A Cabin in the Woods Recordings (Crypt Monarch, Engraved).
Artwork by Nataly Nikitina.
Layout by Cerrabuz.

—BAND LINEUP—
Christopher De Haan – Guitars, Vocals
Gabriel Ortiz – Drums
Jose Rodríguez – Guitars, Synths
Allan Salas – Bass

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