Vacuous – In His Blood | Album Review

From myriad influences comes Vacuous and their new release "In His Blood." Buckle in, because it's gonna get demonic.

In His Blood is the second full length for London based death metallers Vacuous. If you’re a fan of Tomb Mold, Undergang or Bolt Thrower (and let’s face it, you probably should be) then Vacuous will be right up your street with their own brand of atmospheric, angular, riff driven death metal. From the initial frenzied wail of the title track to the harassing fuzz ridden outro of ‘No Longer Human’, this is a highly listenable release that will get the head banging and the foot tapping, all whilst invoking a image of some sort of demonic rite taking place around a large stone tablet, involving naked people, blood and probably some Gregorian chanting somewhere.

Sometimes these affairs can lack dynamics, and whilst there are times that call for an all out onslaught for half an hour, it can lead to a bit of fatigue in the old ear department. Vacuous stay away from this trap with tracks like ‘Hunger’, which starts off with a quiet melancholic dirge before dropping into some heavily Bolt Thrower inspired riffing, that echoes the starting melody to add a sense of iron clad cohesion to the whole thing. The vocals over the top of this remain demonic, almost on the point of complete break up (RIP Jo Chen’s throat), but this loose energy gives them a much more visceral feel, lending emotion to a genre that can often be void of it.

‘Stress Positions’ stamps its way through absolutely breakneck riffing that will be leaving the best of us with second hand RSI, all the time though Vacuous manage to maintain a keen sense of melody, song structure and composition. This is no fluke, they’ve been at it for a few years now, and with each release have tried to keep pushing themselves further. The melodic backbone of the track is backed up by its close, where they channel their inner Spectral Voice into a soaring cavernous death metal break, if this isn’t the place where demonic rites come to be completed, who knows what is.

Vacuous have done an excellent job here combining various subgenres into a cohesive piece of music that leaves the appetite satiated (at least for now). They balance each of their influences well so there is no feeling of one overwhelming the others. This is another trap they avoid, they remain fresh and new without devolving into “X band worship, with X elements sprinkled throughout.” The tracks on here should be an absolute blast to experience live, so if you notice any upcoming gigs get down there and show your support by standing in one spot and wafting your hair (or imaginary hair if you aren’t follically blessed), the price of the ticket will be worth it just to see these folks.