Album Review Void of Hope – Proof of Existence
Band: Void of Hope
Title: Proof of Existence
Label: Avantgarde Music
Release date: January 31st 2025
Country: Finland
Format reviewed: High quality digital recording
#AlbumReview Void of Hope – Proof of Existence via #AvantgardeMusic by #Michelle
Finnish black metal act Void of Hope have released their latest album via Avantgarde Music, and so I felt like writing about them as I found the album cover quite interesting. It depicts a human body being torn apart by ravens as it lays lifeless on a tree, the illustration being quite obvious about the image they’re representing.
Personally, I wouldn’t really label them as DSBM, even though the vocals is what makes it partially that, combined with the artwork of the album cover. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, For me, this band is quite intriguing as they reminded me a bit of other acts such as Ghost Bath and Psychonaut 4. I found the guitar riffs quite catchy and rythmic, which is something I really enjoy in black metal. So, without further ado, let’s dig in deeper.
The very first track starts off calm, a few piano notes being heard along with a synthesizer, before a scream starts off the song itself. Even so, the tempos feel quite slow and calming, or at least this is how I would describe them. The atmospheric ambience is really accentuated here, which is something I absolutely love. Vocals have a lot of effort and emotion put into them, an interesting approach in combination with the instrumental.
Now we’re getting to the second and my most favorited track, the self titled of the album. (an aspect similar to my previous review) I really liked the starting riff as I found it quite catchy, a feature I enjoy a lot as said at the start of my analysis. The screams add in to the atmosphere, and as the riff fades out a different tune starts, intensifying the diversity in this song. As the lyrics begin I find myself moving my head in rythm with the instrumental, which just shows how much I enjoyed this track.
I can easily say that The Hollow Hymn is also a track that I enjoyed a lot, mostly because of its calm and atmospheric intro which I absolutely loved. The guitar picking blends in amazingly with the synthesizer, and just before minute 2 hits I’m hit with a beautiful intrumental, the gloomy sound of it giving me quite the nostalgic feeling. Obviously Void of Hope are nothing without their rougher side, but they manage to perfectly balance it out with the calm parts. The scream around 8:33 simply just shows how much this band is expressing their emotions through music, and so I can easily say that this track made its way into my playlist, along with the previous one.
Inner Peace is supposed to be a longer intro to the next song, I suppose. The phrase ‘Everything will be fine, nothing will be fine’ along with the scream after highlightes Void of Hope‘s sorrowful aspect of their album, the pain in the person’s voice being very accentuated, in a way that I find hard to put into words. For a just short pause between tracks, it really got to me honestly.
The next track, T.E.T.L makes Void of Hope‘s atmospheric side more proeminent with its instrumental, the small calm part between screams being something that I quite enjoyed along the length of the song.
The album ends with Decaying Years, starting calm, almost similar to the first track. The piano is a main aspect here, its sound being quite melancholic in combination with the lyrics before the instrumental itself starts. Tempos feel way slower, a great way to end this album. I’d say that this song is perfect when travelling during foggy weather because of its calmness and sorrowful aspect, if you’re a fan of that, obviously.
This was a bit challenging to review as I find it a bit hard to express my emotions though words, but either way I enjoyed this album to the fullest. If I had to describe it in a few words I would say : despair, sadness, anguish, gloom, misery.
I think this band deserves more appreciation, so I’d say check them out if you’re into the more gloomier side of black metal. 9.5/10
Band
Instagram
Facebook
Deezer
Spotify
Label
Website
Bandcamp
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook
9.5/10 Epic Storm
**Please support the underground! It’s vital to the future of our genre**
#WeAreBlessedAltarZine
#TheZineSupportingTheUnderground
