“I planted the seeds of frustration / and watered them with my tears.”
When it comes to writing music for a heavy project, genre is less of a signpost and more of a shackle. More interesting results inevitably come when artists tread their own path. Predatory Void are a project that originates from Ghent within the “Church of Ra” scene, and purposely selected their members to ensure they’d all remain within driving range for good-old-fashioned practice time. Whilst the band draws its members from established, genre-defining groups (Amenra, Oathbreaker, and Aborted, to name a few), the boundaries of Predatory Void’s domain are vague. On their debut record Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being, the fast intensity of black metal is melded with the spectre of doom, but the vocals don’t point toward either of these. Nor does the band make death, or progressive metal, despite the winding complexity of the tracks. One thing is for sure: this record is is overwhelmingly bleak, thanks to the oozing malignancy of the songwriting, whilst retaining with the satisfaction of nasty riffage and full-body performances.
Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being releases on the back of its three nasty singles, comprising the first half of the album. “Grovel” opens the record with a slow, doomy riff, swelling the uncertainty about what sort of record you’re embarking on. Next comes the real opening: the guitar in the left ear quickly scraping out its notes as if picked with a scalpel. The full band plunges in with blast beats and vocals, switching the rhythm several times as the band’s intent becomes clear: stick to no genre boundaries, sound heavy, and pick new paths at every turn.
“Grovel”’s pace undulates further, bottoming out at a clean-vocal segment, which is a chance for singer Lina R. to demonstrate her full range. There are several more clean vocal moments on the record that provide some much needed respite amidst Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being’s shrill intensity. The title track is powerful and complex, and pulls a clever trick for its ending: the soft vocals begin even as the rest of the band fights at full strength, making for a unique transition into its lulling outro. This leads to a fully acoustic song, “Seeds of Frustration”, a tense moment that mostly serves as a palette cleanser. Of course, R.’s harsh vocals are a perfect match to the rest of the band’s relentless heaviness, as she is impactful and relentless, giving her full being to every shout and scream. A recent comparison might be to Dying Wish in these harsh vocal moments, as her style brings a distinctly hardcore edge to the project.
It’s only in the final track “Funerary Vision” that conjures a mood that isn’t formed of abject misery, with unusually melodic passages that gently hint at the writer’s background in Amenra. Listeners should bear the weight of Predatory Void’s darkness in mind, and don’t expect many catchy – or even repeated – ideas. Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being is a record you should be a bit terrified of, in the way you might revere a powerful deity.
7.5/10
Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being releases on the 21st April via Century Media, and you can pre-order it from Century Media (EU), Rough Trade (UK/US), and Evil Greed (EU).