UMUR "Volatile Forms" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish death/doom metal act Dead Void. The album was released through Me Saco un Ojo Records in September 2022. Dead Void have released three demos before being signed for the release of "Volatile Forms" (two rehearsal demos and one studio demo). While the band was formed and is situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, the three members (who go by the stage names D, A, and K) are actually from the UK and Norway.

The "The Looming Spectre" demo from January 2018 (the band´s only studio demo, although it was actually mostly recorded live in the studio) was a very interesting death/doom metal demo, featuring a brutal, slow, heavy, and raw sounding death/doom metal sound. The songwriting was creative, the performances strong, and the sound production perfect for the material. A high quality demo through and through. The "Cranial Demonstration" rehearsal demo followed in August 2021, and while it´s a much more unpolished, murky, and savage release, that demo also showed some great promise.

That promise has certainly been carried over to "Volatile Forms" which also features a varied, heavy, doomy, raw, and also pretty aggressive death/doom metal style. Sometimes leaning towards the ultra slow pace of funeral doom, but just as often featuring mid-paced and even faster paced old school death metal sections. The growling vocals range from abysmal deep, to slightly higher pitched and aggressive. It´s great to hear heavy music which is this aggressive. Sometimes slow paces and doom metal in general take the aggression out of music, but that´s not the case here, and "Volatile Forms" is overall a pretty mean sounding release (yeah I often get the urge to smash things while listening to it, and that´s always a good indication that a band is doing something right).

The album features 5 relatively long tracks and a total playing time of 43:59 minutes. Some would probably call the songwriting patchy, but it´s exactly this type of unorthodox and adventurous songwriting which makes "Volatile Forms" such an interesting release. You never quite know what´s lurking behind the next break or tempo change. Well...it´s not melody I can tell you that. While some sections are atmospheric the music never becomes melodic or easily accessible. There´s a crushing darkness to the proceedings that few artists are able to deliver as convincing as Dead Void do.

I praised the savage sounding production job of "The Looming Spectre" demo, but Dead Void have upped their game in that department too on "Volatile Forms". This is still an incredibly raw sounding release, but even more details and nuances are now heard in the mix, and it´s a sound production which is perfectly suited for the material. This pretty much blows me away and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Cranial Demonstration" is a rehearsal demo release by Danish death/doom metal act Dead Void. The demo was recorded during a rehearsal on the 8th of August 2021. Dead Void formed around 2017, and recorded a rehearsal demo in March 2017 titled "Rehearsal Demo 20/03/17". "The Looming Spectre" studio demo (although most of it was recorded live in the studio) was recorded in October 2017, and released in January 2018. It was a demo showing great creative songwriting, impeccable organic musicianship, and a very harsh, ominous, and heavy sounding production job. Jump a few years into the future and Dead Void has recorded another rehearsal demo.

Stylistically Dead Void continue to play a raw, loud, and very dark death/doom metal style, with the occasional more mid-tempo (and sometimes faster) old school death metal part thrown in for variation. These guys can play, which is obvious when listening to this rehearsal demo, which is naturally 100% recorded live. For a rehearsal demo it´s relatively well sounding, but you have to be in the mood for a pretty murky, chaotic, and mean sounding release. You´re not always able to tell what´s going on (especially during the faster parts), but that only adds to the abysmal atmosphere of the release. Featuring three tracks (all relatively long) and a total playing time of 22:30 minutes "Cranial Demonstration" doesn´t overstay its welcome, which it easily could have done given the extremity and noisy nature of the recording, but this one actually ends up being a pretty good quality death/doom metal demo. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Looming Spectre" is the first official demo release by Danish death/doom metal act Dead Void. While Dead Void are based in Denmark, two of the three members are actually British, while the last member is from Norway. The demo was independently released in January 2018. The material was for the most part recorded live in the studio in October 2017. The band had recorded the "Rehearsal Demo 20/03/17" demo in March 2017, but they count this as their first "proper" demo release. "The Looming Spectre" is bookended by another rehearsal demo ("Cranial Demonstration" from August 2021), so this was their only studio demo release before being signed for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Volatile Forms" (September 2022, Me Saco un Ojo Records).

The demo features four tracks and a total playing time of 33:22 minutes, so it´s quite a long demo release, but Dead Void aren´t your average 3-4 minutes vers/chorus act. Instead their compositions are generally long, slow, gritty, and doomy. This is filthy, mean, and raw sounding death/doom metal, which at times lean on the ultra slow pace of funeral doom metal, but also occasionally speed up with some faster sections. It´s actually quite varied for the style, which is a great strength to my ears. One other strength is how good Dead Void are as creating ominous pitch black atmospheres. The vocals are deep and quite aggressive growling, which suits the instrumental part of the music perfectly.

If I should mention an influence it would probably be Autopsy, but Dead Void are decidedly more doomy and while they are filthy, the filth and unpleasant nature of the music, come from another place than what we´re use to hearing from the US legends. The sound production is raw, abysmal, harsh, and unwelcoming, but it creates just the right atmosphere for this type of material, and let me make it clear...this may be unpolished and savage sounding, but you´re able to hear every detail of the music without trying too hard. Bottom line is that this is is a very well sounding demo release, and it could just as well have been released as an official EP (or even album considering the length of it). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.