From Sydney, Australia, this is Dreaded Void. There is something magical that happens when somebody does lo-fi black metal right. So many people try their hand at it, but very few have that special something that makes it work. Anyone can pick up a guitar, tremolo-pick a simple progression, and howl like a madman. Being real, let's face it, that is exactly what we are getting from The Abyssal Plane of Suffering...at least at face value. It's not skill or creativity that makes this album work. It's a matter of sheer ability to express internal horrors.
Tracks like "Abyssal" and "Murk" are fantastic not at all because of thier compositional value. Quite to the contrary, they are repetetive and not particularly imaginative. But even so, they are the very spirit of black metal incarnate. Mayhem wasn't terrifying due to their songwriting skills either: they were terrifying because of the feelings and images of darkness they invoked for the time. And with a new era comes legions of metalheads that have long since become desensitized to the classics. It can be like watching the old Halloween movies. They just don't phase most of today's crowd like they did back in the day.
With that in mind, it takes the specific skill set of bands like Dreaded Void to take those old ideas and make them new and horrific once more. And while the misguided play with production, violence, and gratuitous gore to try and reach the masses (like Rob Zombie's Halloween reboot), the true artists focus on the more subtle qualities of fear and discomfort. Movies like Found are finding massive critical acclaim (and more importantly the terror and disgust of the viewers) on shoestring budgets. All it takes is the right idea conveyed the right way.
And so with all of those words, I have done little to really describe the music itself; but it's not for lack of trying. Look back at the first paragraph. I could talk about blastbeats and guitar riffs. However, doing so would miss the full scope and indescribable qualities of what makes this such a solid EP. It's simply good because it is done well. It evokes a visceral reaction. From the music to the cover art, I get a sense of real passion and connection instead of some trend-chasing kids with a ProTools and corpse paint. To quote Apocalypse Now, "It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror... Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror."