The Howling Void is about to release its eighth album.
Entitled Into Darkness Ever More Profound, it is the first album of the American Symphonic Funeral Doom one-man band created by Ryan Wilson (all instruments/vocals, Crowhurst, Endless Disease, Intestinal Disgorge, Pneuma Hagion…) to be released on the Armenian label Funere, early 2023.
From Into Darkness Ever More Profound, we immediately feel this contrast between Funeral Doom’s oppression and soothing majestic elements of Symphonic influences, creating a haunting wave of airy tones. Massive vocal parts also offer the sound a fix of darkness which doesn’t hesitate to remind us its melodiousness by placing heady leads to accompany keyboards, but the sound will slowly end up choking to give way to Impenetrable Gloom, a very slow track which relies on keyboards coupled with screams to create a relief so leads can bring us the softest tones. There are also darker but equally penetrating notes, sometimes with two dissonant guitars, while Deeper, Darker Waters also offers mystical and soothing choirs before the massive and heavy sound resurfaces, to end up with Black Metal influences which perfectly fit this apathetic atmosphere.
Note that the last two tracks I mentioned will be longer on the album, and that The End of Endings will come to close it, giving you a final dose of mystery.
The Howling Void perfectly masters Funeral Doom’s secrets, and coupling them with Symphonic elements perfectly fits the duality the project feeds with Into Darkness Ever More Profound.
80/100