It can personally be tough for me to find death metal that I can really get into. Most of what I try out isn’t bad per se, but after

8 years ago

It can personally be tough for me to find death metal that I can really get into. Most of what I try out isn’t bad per se, but after a while, it feels like the same old thing, the only difference really being different sounding vocalists and different production. There are, of course, some exceptions to the rule: Gorod is a good example of a band that managed to capture my interest with some excellent and provocative songwriting that made them stand apart from the others in their genre, as well as some of the more “classic” death metal bands like Death, Entombed, Nile and Morbid Angel.

I don’t believe that Germany’s Sucking Void have earned the level that Death or Nile have in terms of musicality and importance to the death metal genre, and nor do I say that they deserve it yet. However, they are definitely on a path towards death metal greatness, if they play their cards right.

What struck me first about the band—aside from their hilariously metal name and the starkly gruesome artwork adorning their Scavenger demo—is their stellar production. Admittedly, a death metal band’s production is probably not on the top of everyone’s lists of things to look for in a good death metal release, but this is just the beginning of how this band seems to differ. The bass can be clearly heard, for the most part, the tone of the guitar has this scooped out hardcore edge to it that I can’t seem to get enough of, and the vocals have a great range that are well represented in this recording.

Songwriting-wise, Sucking Void is pretty stellar, playing an almost dizzying amount of riffs and licks for a death metal band that feels more on the side of traditional death metal than tech-death. But don’t just draw them into a corner, thinking that they’re a mathcore band or utilizing jump cuts like Naked City; these riffs are used intelligently, and sync into each other very well.

Although they only have a demo and a new single on their hands, Sucking Void have already established themselves as a band that clearly cares about quality, whether it comes to their songwriting, visual presentation, or production. Again, they aren’t nearly the band that Death or Morbid Angel are, but I can see them on their way to that, slowly but surely.

Heavy Blog

Published 8 years ago