Little is known about the one-man black metal project out of Karlsruhe, Germany that is Voidcraeft. Conceived from the mind of one referred to as قرف (don’t worry, I’m not sure either), a self-acknowledged recluse fascinated by pessimistic literature, Voidcraeft’s latest Ἕβελ is a journey through dark nihilism and emptiness. And these concepts are presented with some of the more complicated black metal structures you will experience. Complex on a both a sonical and intellectual level, Ἕβελ seeks to challenge an audience on all levels, and succeeds in doing so.
I opened this review by stating that little is known about this project. So in my rather finite curiosity, I did some basic digging around. What I uncovered from the Voidcraeft website was a fascinating autobiographical memoir titled Intolerance and Stagnation from the man behind the music. The ideas and thoughts behind this work provided significant insight into what was going on in the background of this particular album. As I mentioned, this isn’t an easy album to sit down with, so the more that we can understand as we go through it, the better. The narrative is lengthy, but worth analyzing. So, with that in mind, after two full-length albums in 2013 and 2014, and a dozen EPs mixed in for good measure, we focus now on Ἕβελ.
At first, with opening tracks “תַּחַת הַשָׁמֶשׁ (Under The Sun)” and “עֵת לָמוּת (Time To Die),” the angular stop-start nature of leads, which is clearly the overriding feature of the sound, is almost too jarring to generate any appreciation. The percussion is fuzzy, the vocals wrought with emotion, and the pace is ferocious, but the extreme diversity of the lead progressions and time signatures is ambitious to say the least. It is not a comfortable sound or structure. It doesn’t seem to make sense. It threatens our ability to grasp the content and aspirations of this art form. But over time, you start to realize that that’s the whole point.
Yet still, as we work our way through the middle stages of this album, moments of more fluidity emerge and become more recognized from within the dissonance of the riffs. The tremolo picking in “בּוּקָה וּמְבוּקָה (Devastation and Desolation)” resonate with a bit more atmosphere and even melody, for example. The pace still hasn’t let up, the chaos that we were introduced to holds its ground firmly throughout the record. But there is no denying that despite how uncomfortable this sound was in the early stages, it begins to take form, and frankly just make more sense, the longer you stick with it. It pulls you in further and further with each passing track. It doesn’t become any easier to listen to on the surface, but it’s something you start to become more comfortable with the longer you are exposed to it. And this all rounds off brilliantly with the diversely punishing and dense soundscapes of the closing “Ὁ Ἀμήν (The Amen)”.
Ἕβελ was an album that, at first, I didn’t get and certainly didn’t appreciate. It seemed overly complicated in a way that felt forced. Complex for the sake of being complex. But after analyzing both the influences behind the music and the music itself, the purpose of this record, and Voidcraeft, began to emerge more clearly. It is jarring. And it is uncomfortable. But the stretches of these concepts of nihilism and emptiness within this sound are intended to challenge, to give us something new to attempt to grasp. Black metal, in many forms, has become too easy on an audience. This record has not fallen into that mold. It is a complicated piece of art that is to be appreciated on all of levels.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– Corey
Ἕβελ is out now on I, Voidhanger Records. For more information on Voidcraeft, visit the band’s official website.
Nine Circles 