I’ve been a fan of Colorado’s Call of the Void, since their 2013 Dragged Down A Dead End Path debut and then the band following it up with Ageless in 2015.  Both releases on Relapse Records.   COTV play a blistering combination of crusty grind, with some hardcore/punk influences.  Super aggressive and pissed off music.  Really, ass-kicking from beginning to end.  So while we all wait with bated breath for the next COTV full-length they treat us with A.Y.F.K.M., an EP on Translation Loss Records, a label I had never heard of.  5 songs to shred your skin from your pathetic soulless body.

“Get in the Van” starts with some feedback, with some doom/sludgy riffing, almost taking me back to the classic Sabbath era, and some early Cathedral, too…killer opening doom metal sequence, and super heavy!  And the one thing that jumps out is the production-the best COTV has achieved thus far with a guitar tone, many grind/metal bands would love to have.  So about 3 minutes with the doom metal, the band comes raging through with a nice fast hardcorish/grind part before the Holy Shit moment hits you most viciously upside your head a few seconds later going into a vicious grind whirlwind blast and vocals tearing you apart.  Really, some of this takes me back to the 80’s NYHC scene with how angry this sounds.  COTV throws in the grind blast again just to ensure the listener is not getting too comfortable and blasts you again and again with gang shouting vocals and a guitar solo tapering off to the end of the song.

“Throwing Bullets” comes out the starting gates and never lets up with a killer monstrous guitar tone and at the 23 second part a great stomp groove before going into an almost classic thrash pace before a quick blast gets thrown in your face and nice isolated bass guitar moment with drums and guitar feedback.   “On and On” is next and no it’s not a cover version from Raven’s Stay Hard album!!  A ha, pulling out all the nostalgia for this review.  This tune is a slow groove, tune guaranteed to have pits overtake Manhattan and then go onto the west coast and collapse the Golden Gate Bridge.  Man if this tune was played in the 80’s, at CBGB’s it would be legendary.  The 2 minute riff with the double bass and then going back into some killer drum work, man you’re going to want to start swinging big time.  A monstrous groove, slammin’ tune.  “Never Enough” is not only a great song, but is the title of their brand new Long Sleeve shirt COTV currently has for sale-so you’d better go buy it, or you’ll have to deal with me.  “Never Enough” is more groove, mid-paced picks up some speed before the great guitar riff comes back again.  Although no blasts on this track, one of the most violent and angry sounding tracks, in the last year.  Call of the Void have incorporated more influences with this A.Y.F.K.M. ep and the doom parts work really well.  The blasts are a little less, but this is the same Call of the Void, just with a little more hardcore, but very violent sounding.

The band reaching their best production yet and truly Call of the Void are hitting the mark in all the right places with this release.  The ep is housed in a nice digipak with a booklet containing lyrics.  You have to like their FB page and buy their releases.  As I mentioned they have a new Long Sleeve for sale-so go and get it you bastard and realize Call of the Void are one of the best bands out there playing this style of extreme music.  Now start wind-milling and picking up change!!

[Visit the band's website]

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