Voidwards

One of the most innovative and unique blackened doom metal bands to come from Finland is Dolorian. While releasing two spectacular lps and a split with Shining, their most accomplished and definitive record in my humble opinion is Voidwards. Ever since I stumbled onto this record, it truly feels as if I wasn’t supposed to hear it. As if it’s some sort of twisted cosmic experiment that was never meant to be consumed. This album conjures some of the darkest, most ethereal, and untimely soundscapes I’ve ever heard in music. Despite exploring unprecedented waves of depth, texture, and ambiance; Voidward’s musical tone and themes remain utterly consistent through its one hour and five minute run time. Even in the quieter, more calming moments of the record, Voidward’s unsettling and mysterious nature permeates in a manner that remains authentic and natural in accordance to the harsher, more distorted sections. In fact, Voidwards is so good at juggling between its lighter and heavier sections, that nearly ten minutes of the album is dedicated to an acoustic instrumental that, on paper, would sound like a disaster, but somehow manages to fit with the tone of the record perfectly and only adds to its enigmatic nature.

The beauty of Voidwards is that the album benefits in the sense that it can connect with the listener in a way where all meaning of the record comes purely from the interpretation of the listener based on his/her’s perspective. Dolorian doesn’t piggyback the listener to view Voidwards in the same manner that the band views it. All ideas and techniques that are presented in Voidwards articulate a sense of formulated substance amongst the listener. Isolation, chaos, sorrow, madness, tragedy, despair; all which aligns with darkness can describe the contextual meaning of the record perfectly despite signifying different things. Through erratic coldness alone, the record holds an atmosphere that never conflicts or falters, but endures. The record is completely subtle in its approach. Not once does it sound forced, contrived, or derivative. Through its subtlety, Voidward’s ability to display its conceptual themes - while holding no universal definition - is perfect in relation to the viewer’s perception of the record being purely interpretive. This makes the record a rewarding and unique experience, and based on repeated listens, it feels as if I’ve barely scratched the surface on what this record is able to offer in terms of figurative allegory. A feat that can only be described as masterful.

Musically, the record is perfect. Every instrument is played with perfect chemistry of one another. The drums are slow yet calculative, with each beat being proficient and intentional in conjunction with the guitars. The guitars play in a similar niche to the drums. A combination that can only be described as hypnotic. The symbiotic characteristics of the guitars playing in deceptivity with one another almost gives a sentient quality to them. They sprawl and mutate into whatever form they see fit, as they subtly progress and merge into complete disarray during the heavier moments of the record. The guitars are played and developed in a manner that ultimately manages to be engaging and rewarding. The vocals are also used to full effect here. The vocals remain mostly whispered, and appear hollow in tone. Besides the all encompassing growls and shrieks of the harsh vocals, the vocals are repetitive, drawn out, and lack variety. While this may seem frustrating at first impression, the style used here actually works to the record’s advantage as it contributes to the record’s mystical quality. The whispered vocals flow in sync with the instruments seamlessly, as they paint an enigmatic picture within the constantly evolving chords found throughout, only to completely overwhelm the listener as the harsh vocals come in. The harsh vocals are used sparingly, but due to this, their impact becomes incredibly satisfying. Voidwards simply wouldn’t be complete without the harsh vocals emanating the tracks with blackened distortion, infusing them with a sense of sinister chaos and supremacy in conjunction to the cold, desolate, and unseeing sounds perpetuated from the clean whispered vocals. The dynamic relationship between the two vocal styles compliments each other ideally.

Each note presented in Voidwards is able to attain a sense of purpose within the overarching experience of Voidwards. Never do they lack consistency, nor do they lose their potency within the context of the record. Contrarily, despite every instrument echoing dissonance, the effect produced from such instruments is harmonic in nature. Such an anomaly is one that only few albums have achieved, Voidwards being one of them. Similar to Obscura by Gorguts, at the root of it all, Dolorian's Voidwards achieves its profound effect precisely because it disregards the common laws of music theory, allowing the listener to delve into the unknowable terrors of their unconscious being through it. Not a single beat, melody, verse; anything is misplaced or under/overdeveloped. Everything that is set within Voidwards is intentional, resolute, and complete, while remaining interesting enough to keep the listener engaged. The album constantly distorts into distinct, seemingly unrelated textures and soundscapes yet flow and contrast organically while remaining consistent to the record’s atmosphere. For example: an elusive synth can be found in most of the tracklist. For the most part, the synth remains fairly passive throughout Voidwards but when audible, it’s enough to keep the track interesting without overshadowing the main instruments.

On the compositional aspect of the album; the compositions are complex yet never fall stagnant nor overwhelm the listener to where it detracts from the overall experience. In addition to its intricate compositions, the record also exudes a sense of tranquillity that is both simultaneously eerie and calming, likely due to its other worldly production. Like a black hole, Voidwards draws the listener further and further into its endless abyss. An abyss that is so dark, yet attractive. Rather than covering as much sonic ground as possible for the sake of ambition, Dolorian manages to remain focused on its utterly unique and transcendental darkness. A darkness that is so cold, withered, alienating, and absolute. A darkness that can only be grasped from Voidwards. This album is so effortless in what it is able to accomplish. No record does nor will ever sound like Voidwards. Through this record, Dolorian has mastered the art of understanding the void, as the only way we may evoke the void's all-encompassing essence is to become one with it.

Dolorian has to be one of the most unique metal bands that has graced the scene. While they seem to have focused their energies on their ambient side-projects, when they play metal and integrate that mastery of ambient weirdness from their projects together, there is a sound left over that is altogether singular and unlike any typical metal album.

“Voidwards” is very atmospheric, the flange is turned up all the way to give a tinge of psychedelic inspiration, there is a constant eldritch yet familiar background upon which each moment builds off the prior to achieve the desired atmosphere, and then the booming electronic and crunchy interludes throughout the album give it that epic fierceness which puts it betwixt and across various sub-genres.

From the dismal abysses to the peaks of resolution there is no lack of ambition or grounded feelings that can delimit the boundaries of the soundscape. It’s like the band taps into an underlying wavelength just beneath the senses, where there is no human emotion that can express itself.

Overall the music is pleasing aesthetically in the sense that it is smooth and the transitions seem to morph into other sound-scenes. The first track sets the tone for the rest of the album without pulling any punches or surprises. In this track, those heavier crunchier doom metal elements, which come out more willingly later on, are presaged though they aren’t completely expected in subsequent tracks. As opposed to their second instrumental album there are more “musical moments” in “Voidwards,” i.e., the more common verse-chorus-bridge etc., format of song structure. In the fourth track, “Ivory Artery,” the two most consistent elements of the album (the psychedelic/atmospheric and the black/ambient) play off each other, from one transition to the next. It is my favorite track because it truly explores a depth of being that is foreign, yet altogether too eerily familiar. The tension that is released in each chorus brings the predominant psychedelic aspects of the music to ear crunching resolution. While there are the typical whisperings and recited words throughout the verses, the chorus unleashes a torrent of pent up inner doom.

Dolorian really seems to have complete control of their sound, which is why it scores so highly in my book. Compositionally, the music is very edifying in its complex, simplicity. In the “Epoch of Cyclosure,” the heavier grim and bleak landscape is straightforward black-ambient doom, with almost that soul-crushing distortion that is utilized in drone and funeral doom. The final track, “Raja Naga,” is a great summation of the undercurrents building throughout the album.

Dolorian’s first album was black/doom and their second was instrumental doom. The elements of both of those albums come together in "Voidwards," though not seamlessly, but fraught with conflicting yet coterminous pathways of soundscape (where boundaries are musically crossed without any pre-planned agenda). So many bands craft their music too delicately, giving in to the desire to be “that band” that is so layered and complex and unheralded. Dolorian does not give in to the impulse to produce something different for the sake of it, like some seem to do in the “extreme” metal scene. The fact that they haven’t produced anything in over a decade indicates that this album may be the final output from this project.

Finland produces, in my opinion, the most diverse genres and sub-genres of metal. From Wintersun to Shape of Despair to Finntroll to Amorphis: it is practically insane how the aforementioned bands are not even relatively similar in their sound, yet some have even shared musicians between themselves. Dolorian seems to be in a holding pattern, though. They will never gain in popularity or demand because of the nature of the desired aesthetic from the masses--like the consistency of a niche band that has really found their comfort zone in “their sound.” Personally, as a doom metal enthusiast I cannot recommend a more atmospheric album to my friends. I would say that this album rivals Mournful Congregation’s, "The Book of Kings," Shape of Despair’s “Shades of…” and Ahab’s “The Call of the Wretched Sea,” as a high watermark in the history of doom metal.

Dolorian are one of those special, untouchable bands that have perfected a style all their own. Voidwards is, in my opinion, their best offering. They seem to progress their songs in the direction that my mind expects, but without being predictable or stale. It's like taking a drug, more specifically, an opiate.


Almost everything has a clean, delayed, psychedelic and depressing sound to it. It alienates the listener from reality. It forces the listener into seclusion. Everything seems so far away and without color and vibrancy. The drums compliment this with some very creative patterns. There are parts where the drums build up for a heavy bit which are extremely ominous and powerful, specifically the parts in Raja Naga - Rising. Even without the strings and vocals, the drums themselves would contain the listener. The vocals are mostly whispers, which may sound off on paper, but when you hear it for yourself, you will appreciate and understand the use of them. So after you've been secluded and just when you're ready to cease existence, the harsh, heavy parts kick in. Now the guitars are heavily distorted and the vocals are growled. These brief parts throughout the album almost shed light, but take it right away. Hopelessness returns again like a long lost friend.


This is extremely powerful music that should only be listened to by those that can handle it. This is also not music for the typical doom metal fan. If I was asked to specify a genre for this music, I'd be at a loss. Sure, it shows some similarities to doom metal, but it also has its own unique and disturbing sound.


This album is best listened to from start to finish, all in one sitting, though some standout tracks are; In the Locus of Bone, Ivory Artery, and Raja Naga - Rising