adg211288 Inhale the Void (2013) is the debut full-length album by German death metal act Wound. Wound first hit the scene last year with the demo Confess to Filth, from which two thirds of the six tracks have made it to this full-length.

Wound plays old school death metal, in my opinion with a very slight blackened edge. The sound is raw but not so much that the music starts to lack definition, more like a deliberate attempt to keep over from the polished production values heard in modern death metal. Wound have nailed the sound to perfection on Inhale the Void to my ears, the music sounds absolutely furious and as an added bonus vocalist Schettler is at an estimate understandable ninety - ninety-five percent of the time, which means the songs are easier to follow than many other death metal acts, and that helps to make each track stand out all the more. His vocals come over as more black than death, but the music itself is very much in a death metal vein.

Inhale the Void does seem to deliver it's highlights in the first half of the tracks, namely Codex Arcanum, The Unsolved Obscurity, Confess to Filth and most especially Forever Denial, but despite that there's never a feeling that the album stalls during the second half. Wound clearly knew what they were doing with this one and as much as it may be done by the book, as these sort of releases often are, it's an album that is instantly satisfying and continues to be so on subsequent listens. If surprises are not as important as solid and consistent writing for you then Inhale the Void is certainly a recommendable release. In fact it's consistent enough that I feel inclined to give it an exceptional grade rating. Wound have kicked off their career in style and I'm keen to hear what they'll be able to come up with next time.

85/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/wound-inhale-the-void-t3056.html)