EP REVIEW: Enshroud – Void Of Light
Eager to build on the momentum of their self-titled debut from May last year, Scottish newcomers VOID OF LIGHT have struck with a swift two-track follow-up in Enshroud. Another effort for the ever dependable Trepanation Recordings, this EP once again sees the post-metal six-piece tipping their hats to luminaries like CULT OF LUNA, ISIS and NEUROSIS while also beginning to make more of a mark of their own in what has certainly started out as a competitive and impressive year for the genre they call home.
Perhaps as expected, both of these tracks are lengthy, weighty offerings, each with near ten-minute runtimes and all the essential ebbing and flowing dynamics. If anything, the band have grown a little more patient over the past year; where Void Of Light opener Scion came thundering in all sludgy and screamy and powerful from the off, Deign Torrent begins this record with more of a moody slow-burn. It’s still a driving, heavy track, and it does work itself into quite the sludgestorm when it needs to, but there’s also more of an atmospheric menace to it, particularly in the almost gothic clean vocals which take prominence in its first three minutes and again later in its mournful bridge. These are arguably what set VOID OF LIGHT apart most here – the clearest marker of their own identity where the rest might feel a little more ‘standard’ for post-metal.
Gild on the other hand is more immediately devastating, its blackened intro giving way to seismic doomy riffing to reveal VOID OF LIGHT at their most imposing. Again though the band still reveal considerable patience, with another hypnotic second half break slowly building to a towering climax that shows off the full power of their triple guitar attack in particular. That does bring us to one minor gripe with Enshroud though, which is that sometimes at its heaviest it still isn’t quite as all-encompassing as some might want it to be. In all honesty it’s hard to put a finger on why, other than that perhaps some of the lower-end guitar work doesn’t always feel quite as thick or as sharp as it could be.
Admittedly that’s a harsh thing to pick up on, particularly for a new band, but it is probably the one thing that keeps VOID OF LIGHT just a rung or two below some of the leading names in the scene for the time being. They’re not far off though; in less than 20 minutes Enshroud provides another glimpse of a band with immense promise who seem to be well on their way to finding their own sound and identity. No doubt even those minor criticisms of the production will be much less of an issue in a live setting, and either way this record, the one that came before it, and most importantly whatever comes next from the sextet are all definitely worthy of a space on the radar of any self-respecting post-metal fan.
Rating: 7/10
Enshroud is set for release on March 24th via Trepanation Recordings.
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