EP Review: Raze the Void – Obsolescence (Self Released)

Released in 2016, Obsolescence is the debut EP of Basildon, UK metal band, Raze the Void. A young five-piece band that blew many, many people away in 2017 when they took part in the Bloodstock Metal To The Masses competition. They won the Hitchin leg of the event, leading to them performing at Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2017 on the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage.

Obsolescence is 3 tracks long. A record filled with atmosphere while ticking all the right boxes for heaviness too.

It’s the aforementioned atmosphere that greets us on All We Have Ever Known. The sound of rain and a simple guitar melody builds the mood leading to an echoing spoken word section before the harder stuff hits. Here the whine of the guitars alongside hefty punches of drumming really starts to get the attention. Hold on to your asses though because Raze the Void are just getting started.

Out of nowhere the track kicks it up an extra notch as the riffing gets complex and the sound of vocalist RJ Learmouth roars out. He’s got an absolute killer set of lungs delivering death metal vileness at a pace that can be best described as eye-watering.

That this opener is over 12 minutes long and manages to hold the attention for all that time is all the confirmation you need that Raze the Void are something special in the UK scene. This is not something you expect from a debut release.

At the halfway point, the throbbing heaviness gets even more rhythmic. Even a little bit catchy but it’s what follows this that might be the highlight of the EP. Utterly spell-binding heaviness that combines death metal with a more traditional heavy metal style perfectly.

Dare you continue? Do you have the energy for two more? How could anyone stop after that?!

Morientum Terra and From the Light and the Dark certainly have plenty to offer. The former’s hyper pace and clean vocals sections mark it out as being something a bit different but as just exciting. This is the stuff that creates circle pits that even the most hard-faced metal fan would feel nervous about diving into. The latter’s wonderfully complex rhythm section is to die for and if you’re not banging your head as hard as possible here, there is no hope for you.

One of the most exciting bands to come our way. Raze the Void join the ever growing ranks of amazing metal music coming out of Great Britain. With a hell of a following already and new music on the horizon, there is no better time to get to know this band.

Raze the Void – Obsolescence Full Track Listing:

1. All We Have Ever Known
2. Morientum Terra
3. From the Light and the Dark

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Obsolescence is available pretty much everywhere including Bandcamp, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer and Apple Music below. You can find out everything else you need to about Raze the Void by going to their website as well as their Facebook Page, following them on Twitter and subscribing to their YouTube Channel.