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Void Of Silence - Criteria Ov 666 review




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Reviewer:
7.2

28 users:
7.96
Band: Void Of Silence
Album: Criteria Ov 666
Release date: 2002


01. Opus I Velocity.Electricity.TV Necro
02. Opus II With No Half Measure
03. Opus III Anthem For Doomed Youth
04. Opus IV Anger
05. Opus V The Ultimate Supreme Intelligence
06. Opus VI Nothing Immortal
07. Opus VII Victory!
08. Opus VIII Universal Separation
09. Opus IX XTC Elevation Trip

This is the second album of the Italian Doomed Ones Void Of Silence. War inspired Funeral Doom from Italy, what will this mix bring us? It is a bit different from their début album, a sign of the changes that became significant with their third offering: 'Human Anthesis'.

While their first album was average but well executed Funeral Doom with some Black Metal screams here and there, it was mainly dominated by a weird type of wailing vocals. These vocals are much more in the background on this second album, and that is something that somewhat made them lose their only originality. They replace it with a more militant approach though. A good example is the song 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' (with lyrics derived from a poem from Wilfred Owen, a soldier and critic of the First World War.)

Covered with pestilence and death...
What passing bells for these who die as cattle
Only the monstrous anger of the guns
Only the stuttering rifle's rapid rattle


Anthem For Doomed Youth is also one of the better tracks, however, this piece of music is very consistent till the very end. Quite few outstanding songs, neither positive nor negative. All the songs drag you down into a dark, crushing atmosphere and will not let you go until the last seconds of music are vaporized into the cloudy air.

There is one track that I'd like to point out, not because it is exceptionally good or bad, but for an other reason. I am talking about the closer 'XTC-Elevation-Trip'. It begins with the rising sound of dark ambient which continues throughout the entire song, with hints of echoing female vocals and cold guitar strumming. They leave their earlier style further behind and go on with their militant approach. In retrospect, this song is most obvious in revealing what their next album sounds like.

In its entirety this album consists of Ambient sounding intros leading to heavy riffs and slow drumming. Then some scarce vocals and voilá, you have Funeral Doom! So to summarize it all, Criteria Ov 666 is not going to win the originality prize of the year, but does that mean it is bad? No, I don't think it is. You see, they may not be unique, but they do their job well. Not every band can be unique, we also need bands like Void Of Silence who simply play an enjoying form of Funeral Doom.

Torn apart, don't know what to feel


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 8





Written on 26.04.2007 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff.



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