By Monk
There is certainly nothing about this stunning six-track EP that suggests the career of Leicester-based progressive deathcore dealers Voidwalker will be living up to its title and going into a slow decay anytime soon. Far from it, as this is a hugely effective and sustainable collection from an act whose career is undoubtedly on an exponentially upward trajectory, and deservedly so on the basis of the evidence presented herein.
Rammed to the gills with gutteral breakdowns, ambient-fused blast beat sections and catchy, technical riffs, ‘The Slow Decay’ is another of those releases that sees its creators defy pure generic classification. I mentioned deathcore in my intro, but there is so much more going on within these salutatory grooves, as the band fuse blackened DM, metalcore, nu-metal, D-beat and classic metal miens with alacrity and a sense of easy, emotive transition.
The result is an uncompromising and unrelenting aural feast, with vocals drawn from the very depths of hell, stunningly tight musicianship featuring the right mix of melody and brutality, harmony and aggression, all underpinned by precise percussion which impacts like a rocket full of napalm on a busy downtown shopping centre. The breakdown section on opener ‘Scorn’ is one of the most diverse (it even features a smidge of 8-bit EDM) and intriguing I have heard in a long time, so much so that I had to keep going back to it to explore its depths further and further.
‘The Slow Decay’ is a hard-hitting, emotionally and physically draining listen, and all the more impressive for being so. ‘Banging stuff all ’round.
- ‘The Slow Decay‘ is out now.
- Voidwalker play The Giffard Arms in Wolverhampton tonight (Saturday 9 March) alongside Recall The Remains, LaVein and Born Zero.
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