The Pitch: Chicago blackened hardcore/grind trio Moral Void bring us further nihilistic mayhem via Translation Loss Records. FFO: Full of Hell, Sunlight's Bane, Sloth Herder
What I Like: I could probably cover most of this review in terms of name drops. Fortunately for Moral Void, they are all good ones. The riffs have a decent amount of Kurt Ballou style and tone a la Converge, but with some added vibes from Trap Them. The H-2 distortion also calls me back to the last Black Breath album, and the lead guitar is often outdone by the earth-quaking basslines ("Martyr"). The vocals are equally buried in distortion, favoring tortured howls that are more in line with Full of Hell and Sunlight's Bane; though at times I hear a little Young and in the Way or Bastard Feast seep through. Overall, the tracks favor a raging, punk level of speed; but the band does a good job of breaking these faster moments up with the occasional slow and sludgey one. "Shadow" is perhaps my favorite of these.
Critiques: My most common response these days: not much in the way of new ideas. However, if we're viewing this in terms of whether the band accomplished what they set out to do then I would say job well done.
The Verdict: "We wanted to create a group of movements that were cohesive, versatile, and dynamic while maintaining aggression and rawness", drummer Ryan Emmans explains. "We were focused on writing music that gets to the point right out of the gate and doesn’t waste anyone’s time." Right down to the track names, mission accomplished for Moral Void. Get the aptly title Deprive today.
Flight's Fav's: Prey, Martyr, Callous
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