Album Review: Raze the Void – Para Sempre (Self Released)

Progressive melodic death metal UK five-piece Raze the Void have released their long-awaited debut album, Para Sempre.

Let’s get this clear from the start. Raze the Void’s Para Sempre was worth the wait. From beginning to end it delivers an exceptional progressive melo-death experience and each time you think it has reached its apex, the group go that little bit further. Resulting in one of the modern melo-death greats and an album of the year contender.

It’s an album that just gets better and better the more you listen to it and it is bloody listenable. Which isn’t always something you can say about progressive melo-death but Raze the Void’s style is so strong, it’s impossible to not find something to enjoy. Even when they’re throwing out 13+ minute finales.

Before that though, there are plenty of egregiously good tracks to get through. Kicking off with the chunky heaviness of The Vulture Bones. A track that burns the brightest when it hits the chorus. Those clean vocals are freaking epic, but there’s no underplaying the meaty instrumentation.

Raison D’être has been around for a while now. Yet, as part of the album structure, it feels so much fresher. Although it certainly helps that it’s an absolute banger with some ferocious riffing and pounding percussion.

Edge of the Universe comes next and makes a play for being the best track on the album, simply because of the melodic strength in it. Raze the Void have never sounded so damn epic and the atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a knife throughout.

In most circumstances it would be impossible to follow that but this is Raze the Void and with crashing instrumentation and guttural vocals, they deliver a beastly effort in the form of Bitter. The band have never sounded so intense and heavy, although the mid-point tone shift into dark melody and whispered vocals is also very impressive. Before Linear’s guitar rhythms and soloing lift the mind and soul to even greater heights and Beggar of the Dawn goes the egregiously intense route. It’s not been mentioned yet, but the drumming on this album is out of this world and on this track, they really hit the hardest.

Which brings us to the end and the 13+ minute epic that is All That Will Ever Be. The most experimental, powerful, melodic, heavy, and epic effort that Raze the Void have ever sent out into the world. Take everything experienced so far on this album, add in what you know about Raze the Void to this point, throw in a hefty amount of progressive imagination, and then drown it in melo-death power. Do all of this and you’re part of the way to understanding what this finale offers. Even then, the creativity and talent of this band means you’re still left shell-shocked by what comes here.

Brilliant. It’s as simple as that. Para Sempre is brilliant.

Raze the Void – Para Sempre Track Listing:

1. The Vulture Bones
2. Raison D’être
3. Edge of the Universe
4. Bitter
5. Linear
6. Beggar of the Dawn
7. All That Will Ever Be

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