The Answer Lies in the Black Void release their third album, Transcendental, on Sept. 26 through Lay Bare Recordings. And for something so inwardly metal, something that is as much about looking inside as out — realizing the only dividing line between the two is the self, also largely imaginary — the temptation is toward a kind of formality, but there is something deeply human about the work together of the partnered duo of Hungarian-born vocalist Martina Horváth and multi-instrumentalist Jason Köhnen.

You can see their respective pedigrees below, so I’ll spare you the cut-and-paste, but the two make up the whole of The Answer Lies in the Black Void as regards the studio incarnation, and from the lush break in opener “Deniers” where the walls of aural crush seem to be building up all around, waiting to crash in, to the march at the end of “Senkim” (is that ‘my nobody’ with the magyarul first-person possessive suffix at the end?) which would be death-doom were there not such a gorgeous melody floating over it, they blend poised instrumental aggression and doomed groove while portraying an ideology of discovery via craft.

Understand, I didn’t brush past the past bands and such in the paragraph above because I think Thy Catafalque and earliest Celestial Season aren’t worthy or relevant touchstones, but because the eight songs that comprise the 46-minute run of Transcendental isn’t about that. Its sound has its roots in doom and there are definite riffs at the roots of the songs, but electronic elements and keys add gothic flair to the nod in “Sine Morbo” (video premiering below) just ahead of Köhnen‘s guitar solo, and the purpose behind each change, subtle arrangement shift, or movement between parts is right there to be heard.

As they shift into the Bukowski-referencing “Love is a Dog From Hell,” both Horváth and Köhnen seem to revel in the quiet before the surge of the second half, double-kick, solo shred, soaring vocals and all for a payoff worthy of one of the best single lines of poetry the 20th century produced. “Senkim” follows and is the longest inclusion at seven-minutes, with a wispy keyboard line atop a slamming, weighted march. It feels very much like a moment of arrival for being at the presumed end of side A, and as with all of the component tracks, whatever the expanse is meant to convey, it comes with a corresponding emotional expressiveness.

And yes, dear regular reader who knows my sentence patterns, this is absolutely the part where I emphasize it’s also heavy as hell. Because it is, tonally, atmospherically, and by all accounts that I can tell, in the lyrics too. “The Summoning,” which starts side B and is the shortest cut at 4:59, marks a point of departure with a harsh vocal rasp that gives the backing roll a particularly sludgy bent, though the space is no less consuming than that of “Love is a Dog From Hell,” and the melody — indeed, layered harmony — isn’t far off in offering contrast.

But they wield extremity with the righteousness of experience, and “The Summoning” is well placed as both an indicator of an expanded mindset for the back of the album — that is, they’re telling the listener they have more to say than they’ve yet said on the record — and as a partial departure from the ground they’ve thus-far covered. The subsequent “Shattered by Wisdom,” which is only two seconds longer than “The Summoning,” pairs fluidly as a return to ground in terms of methodology. I wouldn’t say they sound comfortable, but like “Sine Morbo” or “Deniers,” “Shattered by Wisdom” feels like it’s drawing the listener deeper into the clear-eyed-through-the-fog murk of the band’s making.

Ambience comes further forward in the outset of “Deconstructed,” as Köhnen and Horváth take the time to dwell in the quieter beginning of the song before, as they approach the four-minute mark, a thicker chug of guitar enters the conversation and brings even gothier resonance with it. If Transcendental has a moment of transcendence, “Deconstructed” might be it, but in its solidified riffing and downer march, “Mists of Krakatoa” is more than an epilogue finale.

Horváth pushes her vocal range complemented by string sounds and the ensuing lumber, and the effect is near-operatic as they plunge into the slowdown and, via pickslide, the guitar disappears to let voice and strings carry a bridge to a lurching finale worthy of the procession before it. I haven’t broken out the scale to measure, but the ending of “Mists of Krakatoa” gets at least as heavy as any of the record’s heaviest moments, and still manages to keep its head and sense of reason going into the dropout that caps the album with just enough residual noise that, if you turn it back around to the start with the almost-whispered line “nothing will die” that precedes the crash-in of “Deniers,” the transition is smooth. Full circle, in other words, either intentionally or not.

There’s something extra-satisfying about that aspect, and for an album that expresses its intentions so clearly throughout, both in terms of how it’s communing with genre and how it’s breaking those rules, all the more fitting. “Sine Morbo,” just below, follows “The Summoning” (near the bottom of the post) as a single, and before I turn you over to the premiere you unquestionably clicked the link for in the first place, I’ll note that The Answer Lies in the Black Void take part Sept. 27 in the first-ever Lay Bare Fest in London (more info here).

Words from the band, album preorders and more a/v follow, courtesy of the PR wire:

The Answer Lies in the Black Void, “Sine Morbo” video premiere

The Answer Lies in the Black Void on “Sine Morbo”:

Sine Morbo [Latin / medical: “without disease”] reflects on how our society still tends to see an individual only as a physical form. Sine Morbo written on the paper, while the soul is ill. It is time to condition ourselves to treat the whole — mind, body, and spirit.

Preorder link: https://laybarerecordings.com/release/transcendental-lbr067

THE ANSWER LIES IN THE BLACK VOID, the alchemical collaboration between vocalist Martina Horváth (Thy Catafalque) and composer/multiinstrumentalist Jason Köhnen (Celestial Season, Bong-Ra, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble), will release their third full-length album, “Transcendental”, on September 26, 2025 via Lay Bare Recordings.

Rooted in their shared passion for doom in all its forms, Horváth and Köhnen formed THE ANSWER LIES IN THE BLACK VOID to explore the genre’s emotional and existential depths. Their self-styled Transcendental Metal blends doom’s crushing gravity with elements of folk, ambient and electronica – casting a wide, atmospheric net that captures both sonic weight and spiritual introspection.

Lyrically, the band dives deep into the complexities of the human psyche. Themes of inner struggle, psychological transformation, and the hidden architecture of the soul permeate their songs, giving their music a haunting emotional resonance that moves beyond the typical boundaries of metal. The result is a sound that is both soulcrushing and soul-searching.

Following their critically praised debut, “Forlorn” (2021), and the equally compelling “Thou Shalt” (2023), with their new album THE ANSWER LIES IN THE BLACK VOID continue to explore the depths of the human psyche, captivating listeners far beyond the typical boundaries of metal.

Promising another chapter of introspective heaviness and sonic exploration, “Transcendental” is set for release on September 26 via Lay Bare Recordings.

Release: 26.09.2025, Lay Bare Recordings

Tracklist:
01. Deniers
02. Sine Morbo
03. Love Is A Dog From Hell
04. Senkim
05. The Summoning
06. Shattered By Wisdom
07. Deconstructed
08. Mists Of Krakatoa

Line-up:
Martina Horváth
Jason Köhnen

The Answer Lies in the Black Void, Transcendental (2025)

The Answer Lies in the Black Void, “The Summoning” official video

The Answer Lies in the Black Void website

The Answer Lies in the Black Void on Bandcamp

The Answer Lies in the Black Void on Instagram

The Answer Lies in the Black Void on Facebook

Lay Bare Recordings website

Lay Bare Recordings on Bandcamp

Lay Bare Recordings on Instagram

Lay Bare Recordings on Facebook

Tags: Hungary, Lay Bare Recordings, The Answer Lies in the Black Void, The Answer Lies in the Black Void Transcendental, The Netherlands, Transcendental

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2025 at 6:53 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.