5th June 2026

Review: “Cranial Devastation” by Dead Void

Having smashed our skulls with their 2022 debut album “Volatile Forms“, Copenhagen Denmark Doom inspired Death Metal duo Dead Void have returned for another collection of tunes for which listener discretion is advised. Distilled down to its very essence “Volatile Forms” is record steeped in cavernous atmosphere which creates psychological unease, building a sense of tension while pummelling the discerning listener into oblivion. Mixed by Marcus Ferreira Larsen (Demon Head, Center of the Earth, Septage) at No Master’s Voice, where the album was also recorded, notably mostly live, the record was then mastered by James Plotkin (OLD, Khanate, Conan) at Plotkinworks. It’s also adorned by the artwork of French symbolist Odilion Redon, which makes it look like a distinctly ominous prospect.

As it crawls out of hell’s gate, as a record “Cranial Devastation” is one that almost feels like something of an oxymoron. Four years on from the bands aforementioned debut album “Volatile Forms“, somehow the duo have found the ability to refine their vision and hone their sound, tightening up every single bolt in their framework. That doesn’t for a second mean the album is any less raw or dynamic but what it does have is the distinctive edge of control as it descends into madness. That same sense of control that a serial killer has despite what on the face of it seems to be a frenzied assault on the senses. Soaked in themes of entropy, chaos and ultimately death, the record begins with “Regurgitation of Ancient Manifest“, a lumbering beast that bursts into flames with an injection of adrenaline into its corpse a third of the way through. There are subtle hints at other influences in Sludge and Thrash Metal in the riffs but the perpetual torment of the brutal death growls is relentless. The warts and all approach of recording mostly live is one that has served Dead Void well as there is a distinctive energy to these cuts that adds another dimension to the music. “Isolation’s Hold” brings thunderous drumming and twisting, contorting riffs, the sonic weight it carries incredible. For the most part the duo stick to a rhythmic battery and caustic black acid spitting vocals but there are fleeting moments of whammy bar driven lead just to keep you on the edge of your seat, watching the abyss beneath you as it grows greater by the second.

The agony of the opening refrains of “Phantosmial Stench of Decay” sound how Anakin Skywalker feels as he crawls out out from the lava pool with severed limbs before the cut evolves into something of an occult ritual. Driving riffs and brutal vocals are the gift that keeps giving, the gang chanted moment and its fleeting whammy bar solo adding a spice that’s nice during a captivating almost seven minute onslaught. Going lower and slower than ever before title track “Cranial Devastation” gradually builds a foreboding atmosphere with a sense of tension you could cut with a knife. The rumbling drum sounds may not be as crisp and clean on this one as you might have wanted but that’s all part of its rustic charm, the duo gradually eroding any sense of standing on solid ground you may have had to create a landslide victory of the most unholy kind. As with the other tracks, this almost ten minute long magnum opus oppressive, disorienting and deliberately violent. Somehow, almost against all the odds, it also has passages with almost hypnotic quality to them, a couple of well worked false endings utterly sublime. A cover of Adrian Borland and The Sound’s “I Can’t Run Away From Myself ” completes the collection by taking a Post-Punk song and translating it into a Death Doom monster. The best thing about it is that if you didn’t know, you can’t tell that its a cover, the sonic abrasions very much in keeping with the rest of the album [7.5/10]

Track Listing