Album Review: Void King – Barren Dominion (Off The Record)

Stoner Doom and Roll practitioners Void King are proud to present their sophomore album Barren Dominion on which the band harnessed raw emotion and embraced a darker, heavier sound to express three years of personal and group struggles and victories. Barren Dominion will be released September 13th 2019.

At the heart of it, this record is who we are. Jason and I have been through some pretty trying times in the last couple of years and managed to rise above it all”, says guitar player Tommy Miller. “I wouldn’t go so far to call this a concept record, but there is a theme running through the entire thing.

Tough times can often create some momentous musical work. While no one wishes these times on anyone, they happen. So when musicians are able to harness those feelings and turn them into something truly special, we can feel particularly grateful.

Void King’s Barren Dominion is one of those. An album where the band have taken their issues and channelled them into an 45+ minute tale. Not a concept but an album with a bit of a narrative and it works so very well.

What also works really well is their brand of stoner doom. On the one side, as Lucid Omega shows, it can be wonderfully heavy and delightfully fuzzy. All while having times where it takes on a different life and sounds more dusty and dirty.

Showing their hand early with the doom/stoner mix and how the two feed off each other, it’s up to the remainder of the album to sustain it. Which it does really easily. Far too easily really as Void King take us on noisy trips that encourage head-banging, fist-throwing, booty-shaking and everything else in between.

Leftover Savages, Of Whip and Steed and Crippled Chameleon are just three tracks that stand out. A set of clever, interesting and most of all, memorable tracks. On what is an album that all fans of both doom and stoner can find something to love.

Void King – Barren Dominion Full Track Listing:

1. A Lucid Omega
2. Leftover Savages
3. Burnt At Both Ends
4. Of Whip and Steed
5. Temples Made of Bone
6. Learning from the Ashes
7. Crippled Chameleon
8. The Longest Winter

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