(Andy Synn has his own thoughts about an album which is far from devoid of them)
I wasn’t supposed to be writing this article.
I’m serious… it wasn’t until yesterday when I name-checked this Italian Death Metal battalion in another review that Islander slid into my DMs to inform me that we had this premiere scheduled (which gives you some insight into the well-polished and highly-professional outfit we’re running here) and to ask whether I’d like to take a run at writing the accompanying review.
Luckily he caught me in the mood for even more weird, mind-warping Metal… which is exactly what Devoid of Thought have delivered on their long-gestating, highly-anticipated, self-titled second album.
Whereas a lot of albums, even those (like this one) deep into the weirder, proggier end of the spectrum, sound as though they were written with at least some consideration for their external audience, DoT‘s soon-to-be-released eponymous effort sounds like it was conceived and constructed with very little concern for anyone outside of the band, and is all the better for it.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its fair share of moments of primal, gut-wrenching power – the dizzying percussive patterns and mangled, many-angled riffs of “Putrescent Mireborn” and the gargantuan grind and groan of colossal closer “Entheogenic Ritual”, for example, should absolutely appeal to fans of both Deeds of Flesh and Demilich in equal measure (who ever said comparisons weren’t useful?) – that are guaranteed to wreck a few necks along the way, but for the most part Devoid of Thought (the album) aims for something far deeper than just the same old belligerent brutality.
And what it might lack in immediacy it more than makes up for in overwhelming intensity, with the chaotic, kaleidoscopic assault of distorted metallic noise and inverted anti-melody of “Panspermic Bio-Dome”, for example, inducing an almost meditative state in the listener, all senses overloaded and overwhelmed by the song’s sheer excess, which then transitions into a lucid, dream-like state during its unsettling ambient mid-section (where it becomes eminently clear that the group have embraced their more avant-garde and improvisational, perhaps even jazzy, influences to an even greater extent his time around).
Multi-talented drummer Claudio Invidia in particular proves to be the album’s MVP during songs such as “Chronos”, whose freaky, acid-laced bridge – all swirling synths, squalling noise, and creepy, chanting vocals – positions the band’s sound closer to someone like Oranssi Pazuzu than Blood Incantation, while the erratic, spasming rhythms and linear, stream-of-consciousness songwriting of “Oblivionauts” provides a prime example of the group’s combined creative talents in full flow.
Ultimately then, far from being (if you’ll excuse the pun) devoid of thought, these five tracks represent the work of a singular collective mind – four unique individuals, one unified focus – gazing inwards and experiencing itself in a recursive, ouroborian orgy of self-discovery and self-reflection, one designed to expand the consciousness of whoever hears it… whether they want it to or not.
Of course, some will probably think that those are a lot of unnecessarily big, unashamedly pretentious, words to describe what is, at its core, still a pretty gnarly Death Metal album (and they wouldn’t necessarily be entirely wrong to think that) but to them I would say… don’t just take my word for it, strap on some headphones, crank up the volume, and experience the full album for yourselves via our exclusive premiere below.
Devoid Of Thought’s new studio album was recorded and produced by Andrea Collaro and Devoid Of Thought at Hangar 121 Lonate Pozzolo (VA) Italy, with additional mixing by Gabriele Gramaglia (Cosmic Putrefaction) and a mind-bending cover illustration is painted by Luca Carey.
Unorthodox Emanations will release ‘Devoid of Thought’ on CD, LP and digital on April 24, 2026.
PRE-ORDER:
https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/devoid-of-thought
DEVOID OF THOUGHT:
https://www.facebook.com/DevoidOfThought666/
https://www.instagram.com/devoidofthought.band
https://devoidofthought.bandcamp.com