Band:	Void Of Sleep
Album:	Tales Between Reality And Madness
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	February 2013

01. Blood On My Hands
02. Wisdom Of Doom
03. The Great Escape Of The Giant Stone Man
04. Lost In The Void
05. Ghost Of Me
06. Mirror Soul Sickness
07. Sons Of Nothing

This album is good.

Oh, you need more of a review than that?

OK, I guess I'll tell you more.

Being the vocalist for a stoner doom metal band, I am always on the look out for other artists in the same genre (to help remind me of how lame I really am for having dreams of being in Corrosion Of Conformity). Hailing from Italy, Void Of Sleep quickly became a large blip on my radar since the genre is heavily dominated by Yankees and I wanted to know what stoner doom from the boot-shape nation sounded like. Being a fan of Ufomammut, I went into this album with them as a frame of reference. How wrong I was to do that.

Tale Between Reality and Madness is more akin to The Sword or Mastodon than Sleep or Om, which is not a judgment upon its merit, just an observation. If this record could be summed up in one word, that word would be "potential," as this album is filled with it. There is no doubt that the members of Void Of Sleep are skilled at their instruments as they balance that line of relaxed melodies and syncopated rhythms. Vocally, they hit the mark; standard heavy rock/grunge/stoner styles, which are solid but nothing to write home about. They do primarily use cleaner vocals, which is a plus in my book.

It is in the song writing itself that we experience what could be described as an "identity crisis." These guys seem to really want to get proggy at times, as it begins to rear its head throughout the record. This really got me excited since, as many of you know, I am a prog fan at heart. But just like Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, Void Of Sleep returns to their hole and we're left with another six more weeks of winter set of slightly above average stoner metal songs. It is unclear if the band is afraid to stretch their legs and try something new or if they are teasing us for what the next album may hold. Their technical skill shows that they do have the potential to break out of the mold, which can be a scary thing to many bands. The good thing is that it never feels like unfinished tangents, they manage to always bring it back and the uncertainty of where the song is going is at times a nice breath of fresh air. Still, it never goes as far as it seems it should. Do you try something new and fail or stick to the same old safe method and do well?

At the end of the day this is still a solid album from start to finish. Honestly there is nothing bad about it. This is something I would highly recommend, especially considering it is their first record. For a first LP this is really impressive and certainly a nomination for both the 2013 best debut and stoner/sludge album of the year. If you're a fan of stoner, sludge, grunge, heavy rock, or doom this is a must listen. Even if you're not, check this album out. I can't wait to hear what else come from this band over the next few years!