If you follow my YouTube channel, you’ll know that Southern California-based label Gore House Production has been absolutely killing it lately when it comes to all things brutal and slamming. From the looks of things, it doesn’t appear they intend on letting up anytime soon, as evidenced by Void Grave, the second album from Izmir, Turkey’s Devoured Elysium.
Formed in 2017, Devoured Elysium play brutal death metal of the slamming variety, but they pepper their assault with interesting technical flourishes, as well as some well-placed synths that do much to support the band’s penchant for sci-fi themes. “Green Screen Failure” begins with a full-on symphonic melody before the crushing slams come in just after the thirty-second mark, while the title track incorporates some spacey synths in the background. These are but two examples of the little things Devoured Elysium do throughout Void Grave‘s all-too-brief twenty-seven minutes to stand out from the pack, and it is this attention to minute details that help make it such an entertaining listen.
The production on Void Grave is plenty heavy, yet there is also a cold, almost mechanical feeling to it; it really does feel as if these songs were recorded deep within the vacuum of space. There have been a ton of science fiction-oriented brutal death metal bands popping over the last decade or so, but Devoured Elysium work harder than most at ensuring their sound actually fits with the lyrical and visual aspects of their presentation. In this respect the quartet are the complete package; a band who’s output looks, feels and sounds like it came from some dark and distant galaxy.
Devoured Elysium have a damn fine slamming brutal death metal album on their hands with Void Grave and Gore House Productions have maintained their streak of killer releases. I’d love for these guys to more fully incorporate the synth/sci-fi elements into the songs, as opposed to mostly relegating them to intros and outros, but that’s a minor gripe about an otherwise excellent release that fans of the likes Abominable Putridity, Analepsy and 7H. Target would do well to check out ASAP.
THKD 