Vessel of Iniquity: Void of Infinite Horror (2019)

Well, this one is perhaps a cautionary tale.  I remember adding it to my cart while placing the order for Mystifier, Altarage and Vltimas as I vaguely recalled reading some positive reviews about it.  I probably should have looked back at those reviews or at least done a little more research on this release before buying it.  Oh well, too late now.

This album is basically like if Altarage completely gave up on any semblance of musicianship.  It is a cross between drone doom, black/death metal and just pure noise.  There are riffs present, but they do not really resemble anything coherent.  They are played extremely fast while drums pound away mechanically and other instrumentation plays extremely loud, resulting in a massive wall of sound that only occasionally relents.

This is essentially an instrumental album.  There are vocals, but I am not sure there are lyrics or any words being conveyed.  The vocals are typically delivered in blood-curdling screams that melt into the larger wall of sound and essentially just become another instrument.

I will say that the title of the album is quite fitting because this release is definitely horrifying.  It is good for what it is, I want to be clear on that, but I just do not believe it has much replay value.  There are no real songs here, just differing collections of noise.  I probably would not have picked it up had I known that.  I will keep it, but I doubt it will be played too often.