EP Review

Call of the Void - 'AYFKM'

For those not yet ingrained into the veritable gash in human existence that is the sound created by Call Of The Void, this is a thoroughly thematic review of extreme music, and stamped with the authority of a group of people who understand that sometimes the book doesn't need throwing away, just re-writing to suit your own needs.

Grind is inherently extreme and aggressive music, so to describe a grind band is to describe the genre in general. Call Of The Void are as extreme and aggressive as you would expect when opening the tin, but, the key is what they do with the genre, the taste is in the juice these beans are baked in, not the beans themselves you understand, and that's why Call Of The Void are not a grind band.

Yes, they are extreme. Yes, they are aggressive. Yes, the drummer has had a few too many red bulls and spends some of his his time going batshit mental. But this is a band with far more punk/hardcore running through their veins than Napalm Death and a bucket of crust for every cup of Nasum in this sound.

That isn't to say there isn't a grind element to them of course. They will inevitably be compared to Pig Destroyer like every grind band is, and on first listen, that is understandable. But with every repeated listen of this bands material, you begin to hear more and more influences from the punk/hardcore world in the riffs than the grind in the drums. That's what makes this one damn interesting band.

The last we heard from Call Of The Void was on the rightly critically acclaimed Ageless in 2015, an album which was one of the best released in extreme music that year, and now here we are, at the arse end of 2016, and a new EP has turned up, just to wet out appetite for a new album. A bone fide cock tease to end the year.

'AYFKM' starts off with 'Get in the Van', three minutes of slow, brooding, moody riffs, before gathering pace with some straight up hardcore and excellent vocals for the end of the song, before heading into the 100 seconds of 'Are You Fucking Killing Me', a song which is almost catchy in its execution, relying on a handful of rolling and memorable riffs to keep moving.

'Throwing Bullets' gathers some steam, almost gang vocals and excellent drumming throughout has the adrenaline running when the song hits its climatic ending, the best song on the EP. The slow brooding, moody riffs are back during 'On and On', the song being instantly memorable for its headbanging rhythms before we hit the final song on this too short EP in 'Never Enough', with riffs swirling around and the bass really standing out more as the song grows, its an excellent ending to an enjoyable EP.

This EP is undoubtedly a step forward for the band, showcasing that they are so much more than another grind band, they have far more depth that that in their locker, and it is by far the best sounding release they have put out, with all the instruments being given room to breath which wasn't quite the case on the excellent 'Ageless', this really has raised the bar and expectations for the next album, and should stop lazy comparisons to other grind bands. Enjoyable, impressive and leaving people wanting more, all in all a damn fine day in the office for Call of the Void.

9\10

KC

Top Tracks - 'Throwing Bullets', 'Never Enough'