body void keeper

The Limits of Doom on Body Void and Keeper's New Split

I used to joke that “doom is a 40-letter word.” It just seems so silly that something so potentially mammoth is represented by such a small word. At the pinnacle of two extremes in sludge/doom metal are Body Void and Keeper, whose new split exemplifies doom’s gigantic potential and the shortcomings of its (still apt, but) representative word. Listen to an exclusive stream of the split below.

Though they operate on two sides of the same coin, Body Void and Keeper’s own doomed practices exist on the furthest opposite reaches of this plane. Body Void, for instance, is a massive wall of absolute hatred. There is no need for dynamics, really (though there are some quieter passages), or even emotions other than disgust and loathing — this is the music of abhorrence and the horror which fuels it, and Body Void’s “Androgyne” is a perfect example of the darkness found within emotive doom.

Keeper, on the other hand, is a much gloomier beast. Still heavy, without a doubt, but there is an emotive undercurrent to their two songs. The band’s first material in five years (the last of which was an incredible split with the recently resurrected Old Witch), Keeper’s “Trial & Error” and “Twenty” prove that the distance between bandmates and the inactivity between releases mean nothing when it comes to quality. Where Body Void’s music is physically crushing, Keeper’s is internal, if even difficult, and wonderful. In this case, doom is more than a 40-letter word. D∞m.

The split releases January 15th via Roman Nvmeral Records and Tridroid Records.

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