COSMIC VOID RITUAL - Grotesque Infections Of Interplanetary Divide

Release date September 21/18 (Iron Bonehead)

Lo-fi to the max, Cosmic Void Ritual's debut mini-album employs a sound that can best be described as being recorded in a barn. A Swedish barn to be exact seeing as it tries to employ the buzz-saw guitar crunch so much loved in the Swe-death sub-genre. Imagine listening to an old Entombed practice tape and you'll get a sense of the sonic atmosphere here.

That said, this is very much a raw take on death metal, the churning riffs ceaselessly trying to burrow their way into your brain. The last minute and a half of final track 'Charred Asteroid Fields' being an excellent example of how this band can destroy in its primal attack.

However, while the intensity is undeniable and there are some good riff ideas here, the incoherent, monotone deep gurgle vocals and cheap production values take away from the whole. A good initial outing, but there is room for improvement.

[6]