TRACK LISTING

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments:

1.  Intro (John's Nightmare)
2.  Serpent Soul
3.  Come Resonance of Doom
4.  The Ground Surrenders
5.  Succumb to Sin
6.  Leaving the Corporal Shade
7.  I Want to Commit Murder
8.  Bring on the Clouds
9.  Void

Total playing time:  49:03

Release Date:  October 25, 2011
Label: Southern Lord Records

Craft - Void

Reviewer: Chris

October 23, 2011

In this modern age of black metal music it takes a very healthy dose of talent and believability to create a record worth hearing and recommending. The glory days of this genre are well past, save for a few ‘dark’ spots that keep the low flame going. Craft’s current offering of Void is, hands down, one of the most frightening and brilliant black metal records to come along in some time. This is the audio essence of complete evil. I can’t even go on with any silly diatribes or superlatives; it’s just a tremendous record.

The intro is pretty simplistic and a nice, short piece, but it leads into “Serpent Soul” which has some of the more morose and dismal sounds I’ve heard in some time. It’s a very malevolent track, but when “Come Resonance of Doom” begins and overpowers you with its wanton chords of sheer insanity that combines the very best elements of black metal with some doom fringes fraying the tumultuous edges with ebon blades it’s just mayhem. I didn’t really believe anything could top ‘05’s Fuck the Universe, but the long wait between albums has been well worth it.  While retaining and showcasing the very best that the Scandinavian scene had to offer in the early 90’s, this Swedish outfit should be on the lips and in the blackest hearts of every black metal fan because it’s right up there with the likes of Shining or Germany’s Thulcandra for some real black aura within the confines of the devil’s chords. “The Ground Surrenders” is exactly what bands like The Black or Setherial tried so hard to capture "back when" but fell short, even though their respective albums were great in their own right. It’s a fast and raw piece that captures the validity of the early days of the movement with such veritable ease that one forgets that this band has been kicking around since 1994 in various incarnations. While sticking to the original repulsive quality of Total Soul Rape and Terror Propaganda, Craft disassembles the psyche and restructures the entire insides with nine tracks of soul-raping blackness that Satan herself couldn’t possibly create in one sitting; this album is all of the beauty of the raw sound while carrying just enough spit to shine the corners just enough to resound for long periods after.

The production is, as stated, primitive with some polish, and its redeeming qualities are hidden in plain sight throughout Void. The absolute malignancy of this recording is what will keep me coming back to it for months to come. “Leaving the Corporal Shade” is a slow and vicious meandering through some of the most execrable chords of black design, and it’s a complimentary ‘slow’ ditty that might as well turn you upside down and bleed you out over a bathtub. After you’ve recovered from that musical assault, “I Want to Commit Murder” pretty much creates feelings of a very eager solidarity with its title. There is no tongue-in-cheek reservation here; this is a truly brutal and scary song that I have stuck in my head even now going through the disc a third time. This might become one of my favorite black metal tracks after hearing it and having it attach to the insides of my skull so insistently; this simply has to be heard. In fact, do yourself a favor and hear the whole album in its sinister form and enjoy the bleak that exists is all of us.

I won’t be letting this disc out of my hands anytime soon, people; it’s really that good and that strong of an effort. If six-year waits are what it takes to produce music like this then I demand Slayer take the decade off! This is one hell of an album through and through if you relish all the blackness afforded by such a band of integral shape.