Void Of Silence - The Grave Of Civilization

(16 Jun 2011)

Over the years, Scandinavia has managed to establish itself as the go-to place for metal. It's like as though their entire history, climate conditions, topography, geography and culture was formulated by the gods to let these countries be the most \m/ place on Earth. A few years ago (read: a few months ago), I would have probably taken this fact for granted and blindly agreed. I mean, Scandinavia is fucking METAL because it's Scandinavia, right? With time, I started to realize that Scandinavian metal is not really so much better than other metal, as it's more accessible and catchier. Save for some notable exceptions, the scene there seems pretty stagnant and tired. In my humble opinion, the real European hotspots for metal right now would be France, to some extent Portugal, maybe Eastern Europe, England, and most of all Italy.

Even when I dislike the ending result, even when it is an absolute mess, it seems that bands in Italy can always manage to bring something new to the table. Void Of Silence, with their newest album The Grave of Civilization, are no exception. Here is a doom metal album that is not so much crushing or suffocating, as it is majestic and haunting. At first it sounded pretty weak and uncaptivating, but then its elements started coming together. The song structures that, on a first glance are really weak and make no sense, have a very good sense of organic progression to them, almost a narrative feel.

Meanwhile, the music manages to maintain a constant and very unique atmosphere. Never have I felt that an album name and cover have fit so seamlessly with the music. You can effortlessly see the ominously perfect white monuments, completely abandoned, left as a haunting mark on the landscape for all eternity, meanwhile you, watching, feeling a fear you cannot grasp, as you boil in the sun, yet cannot find the courage to enter the shade of the huge ancient structures erect before you. The imagery is perfectly transmitted by the music.

The album is not, though, without its flaws. I'm not referring to the vocals, which everyone seems to have a gripe with. There are some synth sounds that, if not cheesy, are just out of place, and I feel that overall the album lacks momentum, which is specially noticeable in the latter half.

Nevertheless, The Grave of Civilization could have failed in SO many ways. In fact, it could have been an absolute disaster. If not in the perfect balance presented, the synths could have ended up cheesifying the album beyond listenability, or just made the album feel empty if not so well placed. The vocals could have ended up really irritating, the slightly stale production could have ruined it, the songs could have been an absolute mess structurally. The whole album seems to pick up everything that is bad in Doom Metal and managed to make it all good, in the meantime hanging on to excellence by a thread. Even if you won't like it, it brings something new to the table, in that way that only Italian acts do.

Standout tracks:

The Grave of Civilization
Apt Epitaph