EP REVIEW: Loathe For Life – Voidlurker
Time can be a cruel beast indeed. Rewind the clocks to January 2020, and Birmingham doom-trio VOIDLURKER marked their arrival on the UK metal scene with their hefty debut EP Industrial Nightmare. Then, as well all know what happened next. Emerging from a pandemic-enforced slumber, momentum has been building back with recent performances – including a highly impressive outing at last year’s Desertfest London – and now comes new EP Loathe For Life.
There’s no beating around the bush with VOIDLURKER. They wear their influences on their collective sleeves and their sound is a devout worship of doom. What this creates is a tight and crushing release, one that demonstrates the quality at the trio’s disposal. Weighing in just shy of seven and a half minutes, album opener Green Ghost is a snarling behemoth of a track, one that oozes influences sludge-filled goodness as thick bass tones from Andrew Rennie combine with Mitch Bishop‘s thundering percussion to pummel you from the get-go. It twists and contorts over its lengthy runtime, with enough clever pacing to keep you completely immersed.
Elsewhere, S.O.B hulks and crawls at glacial pace as hypnotic riffs swirl alongside Brad Thomas‘ larynx-shredding shrieks, which deliver a masterclass in heavy, appealing to those who appreciate the slow and nasty riff. The title track, Loathe For Life, feels like a perfect homage to ELECTRIC WIZARD‘s Funeralopolis with its razor-sharp delivery and expert display of pacing and temperament. The result keeps you transfixed as it unfolds its numerous layers and delivers blow after blow. It’s testament to the band’s dedication to the cause, producing crushing doom, and here, they’ve delivered in spades.
Loathe For Life feels like a perfect snapshot to introduce someone to the world of doom. It channels the greatest strengths of the genre and over the course of its 30 minute runtime, what feels truly exciting is that it feels like this is just the start. Rarely putting a foot wrong, with EP closer Time Heals Nothing ensuring that they finish with a flourish, VOIDLURKER demonstrate clear potential and promise, something they can channel from the strength of this EP into really accelerating their trajectory. And what’s not to love about that?
Clocking in at a lean 30 minutes, the four tracks offered here are a snapshot into a band that are really beginning to find their groove. Five years between releases is a long time, and the growth and maturity demonstrated here compared to 2020’s debut is measurable. This feels like the beginning of a truly exciting chapter for VOIDLURKER, a band seemingly destined to become a much more recognisable force within doom circles. All signs now point towards that debut full-length. Hail the riff.
Rating: 9/10
Loathe For Life is out now via APF Records.
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