ALBUM REVIEW: Outer World Graves – Devoid Of Thought

Cosmic death metal seems to conjure two schools of thought; that of earlier FALLUJAH, the clean-cut atmospheric, expansive sound, or the more sinister, twisted vortex of bands like DEMILICH, BLOOD INCANTATION or TOMB MOLD that twin that cosmic edge with almost Lovecraftian horror. Italy’s DEVOID OF THOUGHT are inescapably in the latter camp, firmly entrenched in the old school death metal sound but with enough technical flourishes to open their sound to mind-expanding proportions. While the band have existed since 2016 and have already released a series of demos and splits, they’re now ready to release their debut full length, Outer World Graves. 

Opener Perennial Dream starts with an uncomfortable ambience before swirling twin guitars enter. The maelstrom they conjure along with the barrage of drums has a serious gravitational pull that only increases as the song picks up and the riffs become more intricate and interesting. The odd dissonant flourish, along with cavernous vocals, lend that more cosmic air rather than this being a straight-up OSDM track.

Following it is Four Cerulean Ways, which again opens with mood-setting, this time twin guitars that create an unsettling atmosphere like staring into the vast, infinite coldness of space. Once more guttural roars herald the arrival of the riff, a tremolo-driven number atop a chugging second part that then again becomes more complex with dissonant flourishes. We’re also treated to the first truly odd time signature and almost atonal moment that accelerates and dissipates as quickly as it came on.

It’s clear that this builds into what’s intended as the centrepiece of the album, the eleven minute behemoth that is Effigies. It’s a sprawling track that seeks to evolve through several movements, from the churning opening moments to the midpoint’s rapid, tremolo-inspired almost chugs and the closing moments that up the ante and go for bombastic, epic death metal.

Penultimate track Sidereal Necrosis ups the tempo for a change, giving us an almost melodeath-inspired rager that barrels along with reckless abandon all the way to its halfway mark where there’s a shift into more horror-inspired territory. Dissonant, swirling guitars duel it out, the aural equivalent of circling a black hole’s event horizon before being dragged into its suffocating depths.

Last but not least, closer Stargrave reverts back to the more OSDM stylings of before, delivering a rapid flurry of riffs and blast beats to open before then again switching it up round the midsection. We end as we began, with eerie ambience and a deep sense of unease at the sheer size of the uncaring cosmos we find ourselves in. 

At five songs and a hair over forty minutes, there’s some gambles made that don’t quite work out – notably, track lengths. Clearly, DEVOID OF THOUGHT know how to write a good song with riffs, hooks and shifts galore, but it’s not made full use of. Instead they seem to play their cards too close to their chest and it means they do themselves a disservice, robbing the album of some of the impact it could’ve had. It means the mammoth Effigies doesn’t justify its runtime, instead lasting a good few minutes too long. That’s also true of the rest of the songs here bar Perennial Dream; while there’s a sense that the band have no shortage of twisted ideas and spacey, dissonant riffs, there’s not enough use made of them or other ideas to fill the space they have. It’d be nice to see that rectified in future releases, but for now, this is one galactic voyage that looks at the stars, but doesn’t reach for them. 

Rating: 7/10

Outer World Graves is out now via Everlasting Spew Records (CD/Vinyl/Digital) and Caligari Records (Tape).

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