(written by Islander)
Occasionally in these premiere features we dive right into the music we’re showcasing, just for the pure hell of it, and then afterward come back and give you some details about who’s doing it and where the music comes from. This is one of those times.
The name of the death metal song you’re about to hear is “The Sign of Blasphemy“, and it’s as brazenly wicked at its core as that title signifies. It’s also vicious, poisonous, revelrous, frighteningly sinister, grimly oppressive, supernaturally chilling, furiously bone-smashing, and so well-written that it quickly drives its many fiendish hooks deep into a listener’s head.
As that last paragraph forecasts, the band in question pack a lot of changing sensations into what turns out to be a very compact track. Momentously, the song opens with coldly churning riffage and brutally hammering drums, then the fretwork maniacally darts about and feverishly spasms just before monstrously commanding vocals arrive with malignant snarls and furious howls.
The drums are in constant flux, just like the riffing. The music begins to blare and moan, and to exuberantly and desperately spurt like hot blood from a ruined vein. The pace slows, and the guitars grievously moan like a poisoned soul, paving the way toward an electrifying guitar solo, piercing in tone, that does indeed sound like a glorious but very sinister supernatural fanfare.
Now for the details:
The band is Void Monuments from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. They’ve only existed since 2020, but quite obviously have quickly developed a mastery of evil old-school death metal, firmly rooted in the ’90s but greedily drawing from multiple influences — identified on behalf of their label as including the likes of Malevolent Creation, Sinister, The Chasm, Monstrosity, and Cenotaph, among others.
The song you’ve heard is off their debut album Posthumous Imprecation, which follows up their 2024 demo tape, Temples of Pestilence. The album is set for release on January 16th by Blood Harvest Records, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Find pre-orders via the link below, and then also listen to the album’s first advance track, “Epitome of Fear“. It’s a killer too.
PRE-ORDER:
https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/posthumous-imprecation