Voidscape Embrace Death Metal's Melancholic Appeal on "Odyssey of Spite" (Early EP Stream)

Voidscape plucks a vital nostalgic string tucked deep in my heart – though the New Jersey-based band doesn’t sound exactly like the melodic death metal that I grew up with, their new EP Odyssey of Spite is completely unafraid to enrich their vicious death metal core with a synth-boosted melodicism that’s indulgently weird and expressive, and reminds me of sounds long buried by a zest for mainstream appeal. At the same time, Voidscape differentiate themselves from other melodic death metal revival acts by focusing more on catchiness and diversifying their attack — this is evident in the guitar work, which combine more traditional death metal riffs with explorative leads that let the absolutely sublime bass tone shine through, and how the anthemically delivered, anguished vocals lend themselves to killer choruses.

Despite the melodic tendencies, misery is absolutely central to Odyssey of Spite.This EP is a brief, explosive record, with only one track running over four minutes, but it dedicates its middle track “Ludlow” entirely to mood. “Ludlow” is essentially a two-minute slice of melodic progressive rock sandwiched in the middle of a death metal EP, and it absolutely works, emphasizing the album’s crestfallen, mysterious atmosphere.

Listen to the full EP here ahead of its Friday release:

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Vocalist Mike Ximinez comments:

The future seems like it’s getting bleaker and the world is in disarray. You can’t help but marinate in the thick melancholy and mourn the insipid state of things, but you need to push through or else you’ll get sucked into the void.

As an entity, we’ve been writing together sporadically for over half a decade and we’re proud to unveil this chapter of the VOIDSCAPE saga! Odyssey Of Spite is a declaration to persevere despite the obstacles ahead.

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Odyssey of Spite releases March 31st via Nefarious Industries.