In some ways, Forming the Void got lucky. Their tour with Church of Misery ended in early March, about a week before the world went to Coronavirus hell. And by releasing Reverie, their third full-length album, one week into May (assuming the release date doesn’t get pushed back), one might say they’ll be filling a void rather than forming it.
The album opens with “Sage,” a five-and-a-half-minute ripper that comes in as a slow crawl, with a spaced-out vocal, before adopting a mid-tempo chug and soaring vocal about a minute in. This tune sorta sounds like Mastodon, back when Mastodon was still cool.
“Onward Through the Haze” combines a slow ‘n heavy verse that gets yer head nodding before the soaring chorus sears itself into your brain. There are also a couple of more melodic detours here, most notably around the 2:30 mark. “Trace the Omens,” a curious choice for a pre-release single, takes a more laid-back, melodic approach throughout, more akin to Alice in Chains than Neurosis. But the crushing weight of “Manifest” more than makes up for this; it’s a real slow-motion neck-wrecker!
The slow ‘n heavy stomp of “Ancient Satellite” is the closest this album comes to traditional doom metal, with a vibe similar to Pale Divine, albeit with a couple of interesting tempo changes thrown in – unlike the Coronavirus panic, it’s not just doom and gloom.
RATING: 7.5
https://formingthevoid.bandcamp.com/album/reverie
(Ripple Music)
