Aggressive music (for want of a better term) seems to rush forward, not just because time is moving forward as the music plays out but because the music itself seems violently to surge at the listener. In the case of extreme metal there’s a reason why we say (ad nauseum) that a band has “assaulted” us or has been “unleashed”. It’s because the music sounds like we’re the target of an attack.

In the case of Ethereal Void song we’re premiering today, the attack is particularly vicious, and it sounds like they have an imminent deadline for finishing us off — no time to waste, no chance for escape. And yet the music also moves… sideways… as if diverting us from the danger, or even seducing us into its embrace. Continue reading »