I have been a fan of Spain’s Onirophagus for quite some time.  I reviewed their 2013 debut album Prehuman and interviewed them for a different site, at that time.  The band blends doom and death metal perfectly and it’s been some time since their last album, their second one from 2019  – Endarkenment (Illumination Through Putrefaction).

Now they are armed with a new record label and a new guitarist Obszen, who joins original members: Uretra on drums, Moregod on guitars, and Paingrinder on Vocals.  The continuity of original members really helps secure the band’s sound in keeping all things deathly and doomy intact with Revelations from the Void.  These are long songs as well.  5 songs in 52 minutes.

Opening with “The Hollow Valley” and at over 11 minutes long the band starts things off with thunderous drums.  The guitar melodies come forth quite excellently with the deep deathly vocals, sounding pained and angry at the same time.  We get some shouted spoken vocals early on too.  Those vocals continue at the 1.45 mark once the doom-death plod hits.  I actually thought, with hesitation, the vocals would return back to the death metal vocals, but nope, the clean vocals continue on.  This moment, even with the heaviness has more of a doom flair, getting away from some of the slow dirgy death metal.  Fear not!  The deep vocals once again return as this song plods and has a tie-in to early Anathema.  When they were a doom death band, with their debut ep and album.  There are some early Anathema melodies and plod, making this album almost sound like it came out of the UK, circa 1991.  The crawling, yet deliberate pace of this opener, continues, and the pace picks up frantically towards the end, just as it comes out of an atmospheric moment.  Great opener.  Long, but great, showcasing the band embracing a little more doom and gloom, and shelving more of their death metal influence, since their last album.

“Landsickness” starts right into the doom-death march with the deep vocals and the song even has a bit of jumpiness early on to it.  Then the song downtunes and shifts to a crawl with incredibly deep vocals.  With some of the melodies, one cannot argue that dISEMBOWELMENT, is not part of an influence here folks.  The heavy vicious guitar riffing, incorporates some killer harmonies around midway through the song.  The song picks up to a galloping speed and the cymbals are being smashed for good measure, just as the song continues to get faster.  This is yet another excellent song, that increases the death and shelves the straight-out doom, that was more prevalent in the album opener.

“Stargazing into the Void” ends the album and is the longest song at over 17 minutes.  Starting with an early My Dying Bride section with the violins, it sounds eerily similar to the MDB ep the flawless Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium from 1992, the title track opening moment.  I’m telling you this appears to be an homage.  It’s hauntingly beautiful.  The song has doom and death all over it with the clean shouted vocals returning with more orchestral moments.  Halfway through the deeper vocals and bludgeoning heaviness returns ten-fold.  The cleaner elements return, as well as the orchestral leanings, and then the song trails off.  Great closer.

Revelations from the Void sees Onirophagus still as a doom death band, yet expanding on their sound.  The band creating more of a straight doom atmosphere throughout much of the album with the increase in lighter harmonies, alongside the clean, pained vocals.  This could bring in more fans, who may not want as much death metal influence interwoven into their doom.  I do not foresee the drop off in death metal fans, as the death doom is prevalent throughout.  The band opting for a more expansive sound and this shows in their writing and production values.  Great album!

[Visit the band's website]

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