ALBUM REVIEW: Seven Keys To The Discomfort Of Being – Predatory Void

Devotees of the Church Of Ra will need no convincing here. Led by guitarist Lennart Bossu of AMENRA, OATHBREAKER and LIVING GATE – i.e. a man with a hand in some of the most impressive and forward-thinking heavy albums of the past decade or so – PREDATORY VOID are essentially all one should have come to expect from a band aligned with the innovative Belgian collective. Crushingly heavy, impossible to pigeonhole, and seemingly capable of only the finest standards of execution, all of this is abundantly true of their debut full-length Seven Keys To The Discomfort Of Being.

If one were to suggest a ball-park for where this record operates – which, after all, is kind of the point of all this – it probably lands most obviously somewhere between death and doom metal, and it’s generally a little more immediate than Bossu’s work with AMENRA, for example. Also prominent are elements of black metal and hardcore – again perhaps expected given Bossu’s CV – which grant the record something of a sharper edge and an urgency which suits it well. Of course, it’s one thing to draw influence from all over the place – and it’s worth emphasising that the band don’t stop at the genres mentioned – but it’s another thing entirely to weave these elements together as organically and free-flowingly as PREDATORY VOID do here. That’s what actually makes this album great; a diverse yet cohesive work worthy of the hallowed halls of the Church Of Ra.

It’s not all down to Bossu either. The guitarist’s AMENRA bandmate Tim De Gieter (also of DOODSESKADER) handles bass and production here and should be given full credit for granting the band a crisp and powerful sound that could often go toe-to-toe with the likes of CULT OF LUNA and PARADISE LOST at least in terms of heft alone. Vocalist Lina R. also stands out, her versatile delivery encompassing not only the ferocity she is known for in CROSS BRINGER, but also ghostly and ethereal cleans that serve to both offset and accentuate the record’s prevailing savagery. With the line-up completed by guitarist Thijs De Cloedt (COBRA THE IMPALER) and drummer Vincent Verstrepen (CARNATION), together the five-piece form a tight unit that crucially feels like its own entity rather than a mishmash of projects or personalities.

So well-rounded is the overall experience of Seven Keys To The Discomfort Of Being, and so consistent is its quality, that it is difficult to discuss it as anything other than a complete whole. From the serrated death metal of opener Grovel to the ten-minute melodic doom/post-metal sprawl of closer Funerary Vision, this record carries a hypnotic, atmospheric power which enthrals and enraptures with ease across an already very manageable 43-minute runtime. If there is a showstopper though it’s Seeds Of Frustration – a moody CHELSEA WOLFE-esque number centred on R.’s haunting vocals and an unhurried acoustic guitar-driven instrumental that reveals just how far PREDATORY VOID’s range can stretch. Its placement is no accident either, right in the middle of the record so as to ensure the second half feels just as sharp and as fresh as the first.

If you’re familiar with works like Rheia, Mass VI or De Doorn it should come as no surprise at all that Seven Keys To The Discomfort Of Being is as good as it is. Bossu is a master of making music that’s capable of far more than bludgeoning alone and with the crucial help of his collaborators he has proven that yet again here. A work of such quality and intensity may be par for the course for pretty much anything that bears the mark of the Church Of Ra, but that doesn’t take away in the slightest from this being worthy of a place on the radar and agenda of fans of all manner of ambitious and extreme music.

Rating: 8/10

Seven Keys To The Discomfort Of Being is set for release on April 21st via Century Media Records.

Like PREDATORY VOID on Facebook.