Wednesday 13 March 2013

Call Of The Void - Dragged Down A Deep End Path (Album Review)



Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 19/3/2013
Label : Relapse Records

Dragged Down a Deep End Path, album tracklisting:


1. Failure
2. Theory of Mind
3. Bottom Feeder
4. Endless Ritual Abuse
5. Abomination
6. Breeding Grounds
7. Napalm Lungs
8. The Liar’s Heart
9. I Hope You Two Fuck
10. Faith & Filth

Info/Bio

Rarely does a debut record come bursting out of the gates this ferociously angry and, frankly, awesome.  Stirring up a pissed off mix of Napalm Death and His Hero Is Gone, Colorado’s CALL OF THE VOID pound out a furious ten song grand f*ing slam of a record.  ‘Dragged Down A Dead End Path’ truly lives up to its name, because this is a record that beats listeners into submission.  Blending hardcore, sludge, powerviolence, crust and grind, CALL OF THE VOID are legit rising stars in hardcore and metal.    ‘Dragged Down A Dead End Path’s crust and grind elements seamlessly merge to conjure visions of grind godfathers Pig Destroyer while effortlessly treading the abrasive caustic nature of Converge’s hybrid progressive hardcore and Mastodon’s technical metal-tinged rock mastery
Line up
Gordon Koch - Drums,
Alex Pace - Bass,
Steve Vanica - Vocals,
Patrick Alberts - Guitar


Review

Call Of The Void are a four piece, no nonsense hardcore/sludge/grind troupe from Boulder, Colorado. 'Dragged Down a Dead End Path' is their debut album and its being put out on the highly prestigious Relapse label. Seems to me that all the players are in place for the issuing of a pretty effective beatdown.
And a beatdown ye shall receive. Festivities commence with 'Failure' (don't worry - it really isn't), and after some jazz drumming that seems to be delivered by the mentally insane, the knife party begins with full force; this is hardcore punk ground up and then left to sink to the depths with concrete shoes fitted. Howling vocals and punk rock riffs abound throughout, and it's truly bananas just how angry this 'sound' is. A 2-step fest for the ADD generation. Magnificent.
At this point I'd like to take a moment to single out the talents of drummer / lightning bolt hurler Gordon Koch. It's as if the dude has an extra set of arms. Lots of grind or death players can drum fast, but this guy is fast and loose. Brilliant rhythms when he's pounding the skins like they ate the last of the survival rations. Casual rolls right in the middle of hardcore blasts. Brutal.
The pace whips by until 'Endless Ritual Abuse' kicks in. Slowed down and dirty but no less furious, the riffs fuzz at the lower end and are backed up by more of that trademark drumming. Then it turns it back up to 13 again for the finale. Same can be said for the similarities found within 'Abomination'. These riffs are of the more sludgy flavour, the kind that can be found within earlier Kylesa records. Here however they are punctuated by death metal interludes to remind us just who we are dealing with. Huge tones to those sludge elements though and the band pull them off very well.
'The Liar's Heart' is lightning-fast grind venom with a brief reprieve at the end. The whole album is only 26 minutes and 10 tracks long, which should give you an indication of it's velocity. 'I Hope you two Fuck' is just as vicious, and disappears into the night just as quickly as it showed it's face. But you will feels its presence long after it's gone.
A violent debut from this young band. One that will curb-stomp your ears and then ask you to say "thank you" afterwards. Better wear a crash helmet, and learn to be appreciative. I, for one, am indeed.

Words by : Matt Fitton

As always show your support to the band. You can pre order the record  here and is available everywhere from 19 March 2013.  Thanks to Bob at Relapse Records for hooking us with the album for review.