Deadspace rises from the grave.
Formed in 2014 in Australia, the band released three EPs, two splits and six albums before going dormant in 2020, followed by its resurrection in 2021.
In 2023, Chris Gebauer (vocals, Exitium Sui, Humanitas Error Est, Lebenssucht… ), Herb Bennetts (drums, Woewarden, Aviscerus), Thomas Major (guitar, Woewarden, Flesh Worship), Dan Jackson (bass, Woewarden, Crypt Crawler) and Theuns Olckers (guitar, Sheol of Abaddon) announce the release of not only their seventh album, but also a surprise EP, Within Haunted Chambers, featuring three re-recorded tracks for the occasion.
The first of the three tracks is The Malevolence I’ve Born unto Others, taken from the album Dirge released in early 2019 by Talheim Records. After a very short ominous introduction, the band shrouds us in their oppressive fascinating Black Metal, letting all their influences shine through, while the massive vocal parts wander through this dark, devastated landscape. Heady yet melancholic melodies accompany the majestic haunting rhythm, strengthened by the screams that eventually fade away as we join Rapture from the same album, which remains in those tenebrous visceral tones with Old School roots complemented by sinister keyboards. The rhythmic’s slowness allows the band to inject those pessimistic frightening touches which give the seizing track a special flavor before moving on to I’ll Buy The Rope, the final track coming from The Promise of Oblivion, the band’s debut album independently released in 2015. Shorter, but above all much more aggressive, the track features sharp riffs accompanied by heavy screams barely nuanced by the melodious airy elements bringing that part of unhealthy quietness until the very last moment.
Before offering any new tracks, Deadspace has chosen to delve back into the limbo of its past with Within Haunted Chambers, an excellent way of drowning in the band’s waves of darkness before suffering the next surge.
90/100