Towards the Great White Nothing

Generally speaking, there is often a certain tendency to remain on a vague level when it comes to achieve something or to express a certain idea. A definite level of mystery that tends to surrounds the concept that is expressed in the/an album. Similar can be pointed to in this case here. The title "Towards the Great White Nothing" indicates something, hints on something, projects something. Something that is and that might be reached at some point and through some means. This would be one reading of it. Another points into the realm of alchemy and towards Nihilum album and therefore to Zinc oxide. Does this then explain or help to unravel the mysteries that are contained in the title of the release? Certainly not, but the aforementioned reference is probably some utterly useless information that you, dear reader, have now put to memory -- you are welcome. Nihilum album, remember it. Anyway, Voluptas' debut album contains only five tracks, which span over a mere length of thirty minutes, but maybe this would be enough to disentangle all that had been laid out in the title of the release.

The aspect of white can be interpreted in various kind of ways. In regard of the music, there is the facet of white noise as part of the noise genre that comes to mind of course. Whether the end of the closing track "Desert Twilight" is exactly that, can (or should?) be left open to debate. Nevertheless, the way the album closes, the utter distortion of the flow of music, the unmistakable disregard for harmonics and flow of music are all together an argument that can be used to point into this direction. Sadly, the band from Czechia is not able to create such an atmosphere over the course of the five tracks that this last and final part of the music would by itself work as a counterpoint to what had been presented prior to this. It somehow feels like a missed opportunity. A strange hurrah towards a end, a disturbing crescendo to break it all down and drown the listener into a world of white noise. This has not so much to do with the contrast of the end, but how it flows towards it. By breaking down the flow in terms of the atmosphere and by avoiding a comparably more daring approach, Voluptas' debut is in the end not always conclusive or convincing. On a slight side-note, one might wonder whether a band like Forgotten Silence has had an impact here. Furthermore, why only 13:36? Is this play on the length intentionally?

... and what about the rest, then?

In its core the music is black metal. This is how the album opens and this is also the style the band feels comfortable with. Raw in essence, cold at heart and unmistakable in expression. What made their debut release slightly different had been cast aside and replaced with a focus on core essences of the aforementioned genre. No more saxophone and no more messing around. Fun times are over and the (black) bleakness has taken over and command. Crystalline Key, the opener of the this output, sets the pace and tone. A hollow scream at the very beginning along with a initial intense blast and then the listener is pushed along. The style is modern, progressive, but not overtly daring. A nod towards Karst, a nod towards Enslaved, but not towards Primordial. Why? There is never this intensity of emotion, there is never this intensity of expression. Also not towards Aenaon. Voluptas likes to keep things at bay, likes to channel it into a different direction.

Their music contains moments of calmness and counterpoints. It is not a "storm" from the beginning to the end and no wall of guitars. The tracks are playful, have a lot of dynamics and well crafted motives. But as most of them are around 4 minutes in length, the complexity and progressiveness is kept at bay, as the Czech simply did not have that much time at their disposal. Interestingly enough the album itself is comparably diverse and by no means limited in terms of expressions. The tracks are generally spot on and appear to play with the expectations of the listener at times. Especially as those breaks and switches in dynamics are of a type that cannot be predicted. Leaving the last track out this discussion for a moment, Of Gnosis and Agony meanders around in a melodic kind of way, while the succeeding Between Terror and Erebus throws barrage after barrage towards the listener. The opener would be mixture of these two. Considering that some time passed between their debut release and this one, it feels that some effort had been put into crafting it. A lot of the facets of the compositions appear balanced out and also the instruments are well performed and arranged. The vocals -- screams, growls -- are a bit muffled at times, but this is not much of nuisance.

The question remains what had been achieved once the white nothing has been reached towards the end of the release. The last track is not something akin to what Satyricon had added to two of their releases; Rebel Extravaganza and Volcano. There a certain level of coherence was found, while in this case the stylistic deviation appears uncalled for and on a too large a scale. It would have been better to get rid of the last track altogether and replace it with something else. Considering the quality and flexibility that can be examined throughout the release, Voluptas should have found no difficulty to come up with some additional tracks and ideas. In this state Towards the Great White Nothing is a bit inconclusive.

Comparing these two releases of the band that have seen the light so far is difficult, because they differ from each other considerably. In style and sound either of them have a consistent and "unique" set of sound or style. Yet, this latest output appears to be more mature and better crafted.

MetalGate Records have introduced to a number of very promising bands, most of the time from Czechia. The latest addition to this list are Voluptas. This act has already been formed in 2006, but it took until 2016 before they were able to present their first official effort in form of the EP “Ved Rums Ende”. Now they have followed up with their full length debut “Towards the Great White Nothing”. Their style is labelled as experimental black/doom and while this indicates something that might not be easy-listening this album is pretty much enjoyable from the first spin onwards.

The dynamic of the album can be addicting at its best, with crushing and subtly melodic on one side and depressing and ecstatic on the other. The constant interaction between the driving and chugging main chords and the impressive lead guitar is often breathtaking. The melodies are weird at times and always haunting, but sometimes also have a more relaxed and slightly melancholic nature. While there is a certain level of bleakness inherit in the music the band managed to also incorporate subtle hooks and memorable trademark chords. Because of the well planned succession of chaotic and straight-forward parts there is not one moment of boredom over the whole playing time. I recommend consuming the album in one sitting as the music will draw you into its dark realms, providing for an atmospheric experience.

The backbone of the music is pretty traditional black metal, following the Scandinavian school. There are enough punishing blast-beats and howling vocals to be found here to satisfy even the most jaded of blackened souls – but the album’s template strays well beyond the usual boundaries. There is a more introverted and experimental sensibility to it compared to most works of their peers. Sometimes the riffing is slower and doomy, yet immensely powerful. The guitar tone is thick and buzzy, with the trademark melodies hovering over the heavy instrumentation and presenting some captivating moments.

There is some frantic, almost feverish, drum work, offering some really intense moments in combination with the nihilistic main themes. The music is topped off with some brilliantly raw and emotive vocals, which are most of the time delivered in classic black metal fashion, but enhanced by some deeper and growly parts. All in all that makes up for a fittingly monumental and monolithic slab of raucous blackened rebellion, replete with an aura of immersive atmosphere which gives the album an epic, empowering vibe.

There is a full body of work, moving up and down, back and forth across the annuals of emotive black and stoic doom metal. Hints of disturbing melodies sometimes seem to be covered under the atonal nature of the music, but they always manage to break through, lending the album a very harsh and eerie mood.

The production here is perfectly fitting the music. Raw yet transparent at the same time there is enough place for all the small details and fascinating harmonies in the mix. While the guitars are crunchy and the drums have enough punch there is enough grit left in the overall picture. With “Towards the Great White Nothing” MetalGate and Voluptas have delivered a fantastic piece of sinister and fascinating music, perfect as the soundtrack for the upcoming dark and cold days of winter, which might be especially grim in 2020/2021 due to the shitty situation we are in right now all over the world.

Coming from Prague, Czechia; Voluptas strikes the catacombs of the underground with their debut full length called “Towards the great white nothing”. Influenced by a bunch of different music genres and ideas, Voluptas, walks the thin line of traditional black metal sound and an experimental-adventurous trip; mixing sub-genres in a blender of dark psychedelia.

On one hand, the black metal innuendos that Voluptas uses to hit you in the face are the typical ones. For instance, fast tempos, shrieking vocal style, tremolo picking guitars, and some traces of raw/lo-fi production and recording values. What I mean by “some traces” of raw/lo-fi production in the album is that it is not as dirty sounding as other so-called “trve Kvlt” bands. The black metal parts shown in the opening track “Crystalline Key” successfully transmit an old school feeling of coldness and grimness in the European vein of bands like Dark Throne and early Ulver.

On the other hand, certain elements are more distinctive from doom bands. Slow chugs and crushing atmospheres. However, those mentioned elements are rather sporadic. For example, in the song, “Thargelia” Voluptas briefly transforms into a doom band, showing low guttural vocals, dense guitar arpeggios, and an awe-inspiring atmosphere. Subsequently, the band comes back to their original black metal mode, leaving you hungry for more doom inspired passages. Towards the great white nothing sounds dark and dismal in general but the doom parts are just sprinkled here and there. The third song named “Of Gnosis and Agony” changes gears into a more rhythmic, psychedelic, and punky approach. Nevertheless, the rawness of their sound prevails and serves as a common thread between the best of both worlds (traditional and experimental metal).

Then, “Between Terror and Erebus” returns into the cold Norwegian forests of tremolo picking, raspy vocals, and blast-beats. The closing track “Desert Twilight” takes from Norway to the Middle East in just seconds. The song starts with some Psychedelic Eastern guitar chords that are hypnotic and repetitive, almost like getting you into a trance. Only to be interrupted by the deep gutturals of the singer that lead the song in a different direction again, they have summoned the doom again (just for few seconds but it was glorious). Ok, another shift of sound; now into some tasty black cold and eerie metal. I think this song was perfect to close the record because it mingles all the influences Voluptas brings to the table. The song is a 13 minutes trip into the main influences of the band and gives you a trip to the bowels of hell and back. They even included a saxophone by the end and some jazzy spooky sounds that seemed to go downwards into hell.

Coming back to the first paragraph, I think that “Towards the Great White Nothing” was a psychedelic trip of traditional black metal spiced up with some doom portions and freaky jazzy random noises. I appreciate the balls that these guys have to experiment with and let their influences take the lead of their music instead of just being a copycat band. However, I was begging for more doom passages to complement the obscurity of the record. The doom parts were rather limited to certain sections of the album and serve as an accessory instead of being more predominant. The same for the jazzy and spooky and experimental parts by the end of the record that even included a saxophone. This record positively surprised me and let me longing for more creative bands like Voluptas that separate themselves from the cattle of “trve kvlt” and dive into an adventurous approach. Recommended guys, go and check yourselves.