Album Review: Void Paradigm

VOID PARADIGM – ‘VOID PARADIGM’

by Alan Oliver

Void Paradigm hail from France and this self titled affair is their debut album release. Having an ex-vocalist of Bethlehem in the ranks had me intrigued to hear their brand of Black Metal that they refer to as ‘hypnotic and dodecatonic‘.

The first track ’Chao Ab Chao’ kicks in with buzzing guitar riffage overlaid with a repetitive melody slightly off key to the rest of the music that proceeds to change up and down the chords. I am a big admirer of Fleurety and I was hoping this was going to go off on a similar tangent but it was not to be. At this point I started to realise something didn’t seem right. Rapid rip speed drumming creating a backdrop to the track and then in come the vocals. I was expecting tortured banshee like screams but instead a more Melodic Death or Dark metal style greeted my ears. I gave the track more time into which, at a  point, into a slower more rocking pace, not dissimilar to latter era Emperor when they change down a couple of gears. Still it knawed at me that something doesn’t work with the collection of music going on, it doesn’t seem to flow or gel like too many ideas fighting each other. I persevered. The next track graced it’s presence with harder hitting mid pace drums, almost punk in style, with a repetitive guitar melody over the top but the bass seeming drowned out by the rest of the instruments. Tack on a seemingly impromptu high end jazz-metal style solo at the end and it emphasised what I had been thinking from the start. This was to be the pattern for the rest of the album. For me the best track on offer here is the title track with its heavy fuzzed up rocking riff, brooding bass line and slow heavy drumming combining to form a slower paced more monotonous track with its forerunning constant key changing lead and an almost Italian acoustic guitar line added into the mix. The album is finished off with an unnecessary ten minute plus long instrumental with tubular bells style intro and synthesised organ pipes melody and alarm clocks ringing effects that never really goes anywhere.

Perhaps I’m missing something here but to me the style is too much of a mash of ideas that don’t blend from one to the next. The changes in pace of music that seemed to happen and then unravel stopped any flow the tracks were starting to create. I fail to see any hypnotic qualities to the ambiance either. The picked, slightly off key guitar started to grate after a while and the sameness of the vocals with no real variety, that at times came very close to deathcore for me, didn’t seem to fit the style that was attempting to be played. One plus point though was the variable and competent drumming throughout, even though at times it seems to be pushed right to the back of the mix, showed ability and a good change of pace. I’m not saying this is poor musicianship just that the style, for me, doesn’t work. I’m sure there are people out there who will revel in this album but I am not one of those it is just too muddled in it’s creation for my taste. 3/10