EP REVIEW: Industrial Nightmare – Voidlurker

British metal is experiencing a period of creative boom as of late. With a crop of genuinely ground-breaking talent not only pushing the boundaries of what one can achieve with heavy music, but getting the deserved recognition in the process, British metal is on scorching form. Enter Birmingham-based trio VOIDLURKER who look to join the pack with their debut EP; Industrial Nightmare.

Taking cues from doom heavyweights like CONAN or ELECTRIC WIZARD, VOIDLURKER roar into life with the title track and set an immediate precedent as wave after wave of fuzz-drenched guitar licks fuse with Andrew Rennie‘s hefty bass tones whilst Brad Thomas‘ venomous shrieks roar above the chaos from Jack Bourne‘s lashing of the drums. It isn’t all doom and drone though, the closing portion of the song injects a welcome bout of up-tempo riffery which demonstrates that the band have a few tricks up their sleeves. A highly impressive start.

From there, VOIDLURKER continue to impress, demonstrating not only their profound understanding of doom but as a tight unit as a band. Standing as the strongest offering on the EP, Jeffrey Doomer boasts some incredibly satisfying grooves and sounds like a long lost cut from ELECTRIC WIZARD‘s Dopethrone thanks to dynamic tempo changes and a sludgey epicentre whilst Rotten Seed contains some of the EP’s filthiest riffs that are executed with the utmost quality. Even Bitchcraft and Misery, originally appearing on the band’s 2018 demo, glistens despite being the oldest material present. Benefiting from the splendid production job of CONAN‘s Chris Fielding, the track is given new life here and still sounds as impressive as it did when it was originally released.

With four songs of top quality doom, the biggest complaint with Industrial Nightmare is that you are just yearning for more doom-driven tunes. Regardless of selfish wants, VOIDLURKER have made a really solid opening statement of intent with Industrial Nightmare. Capitalising on the promise shown on their 2018 demo, the band will surely make their mark on the scene and judging on the sheer amount of stupendous quality on offer here, they deserve every ounce of success that will inevitably come their way.

Rating: 8/10

Industrial Nightmare is set for release on January 31st via APF Records.

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