Void Witch are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Void Witch play malevolent death/doom, and Horripilating Presence contains 39 minutes of the sort of material that could crush mountains flat.
Horripilating Presence is the sound of old-school death metal that’s saturated through with gruesome doom metal heaviness. The riffs are thick and muscular, and sound like they are built from great slabs of granite. These are married to atmospheric components that are sinister and macabre; a winning combination in death/doom if ever there was one.
Void Witch’s use of melody is not your typical death/doom affair. Combine this with songwriting that’s creative within its stylistic framework, (the promo blurb mentions grunge influences), and drumming that refuses to be merely a backing beat, and you have a collection of songs that are of a higher quality than you’d usually find in the wild. Added to this we have the vocals that are deep and lightless, yet surprisingly varied and more legible than you might expect. The vocalist is definitely operating at a level above the norm, but then it’s easy to say that about Void Witch as a whole, really.
Horripilating Presence is an enjoyable record, unexpectedly so. I decided to try this album out partially due to the intriguing album cover, partially due to the record label, (the dependable Everlasting Spew), and partially due to it sounding promising after a brief sample. I wasn’t expecting it to be as good or as interesting as it is though, so if you’ve a taste for the style then Void Witch play it better than the average.
Within the boundaries of a well-established subgenre Void Witch have managed to find ways to be inventive with the dark heaviness that they unleash. This is to be commended in its own right, but when you combine this with the fact that these are actually good songs as well, then you have something to pay attention to.
Highly recommended for fans of bands such as Coffins, Druid Lord, Hooded Menace, Solothus, Spectral Voice, Temple of Void, Void Rot, etc.
Wonderbox Metal 