This is the fourth album from progressive stoner/sludge doom metallers Forming the Void.

I enjoy Forming the Void’s work; 2018’s split with Pyreship and Rift were both quality releases, but on Reverie, the band have produced something quite wonderful.

Forming the Void essentially play a mix of stoner and sludge metal with a progressive angle. This brief description doesn’t really do Reverie justice, however. On Reverie the band fully embrace their song-focused progressive doom side, but not to the exclusion of their other elements. The songs are replete with calm psychedelic explorations and fuzzy riffs, but mood is more important than immediacy for the most part. You can hear more of a grunge influence here and there too.

This is not an album of bloated indulgence. At a mere 37 minutes in duration it’s a relatively lean beast, delivering enjoyable songs full of hooks and good writing so as to make for a memorable and very repayable experience. It’s very well-written, and effortless in its delivery of textured, emotive music.

One of the things I really like about Reverie is that even though it is absolutely of the style it purports to be, it doesn’t really feel like it. What I mean by this is that, to my ears at least, this sort of stoner/sludge metal is usually so full of tired tropes, stale riffs you’ve heard before, and overall doesn’t really capture my imagination like, say, an equally-average black metal band might. Forming the Void are different, however. They have some hard-to-define quintessentially special quality that makes for highly engaging and captivating music. Reverie just speaks to me in a way that most records of this sort don’t, and I really, really like what it has to say.

Enough of this. Go listen. Listen loud.

Essential.