Into the Void of Human Vacuity

For a band claiming to be “Extreme Funeral DOOM metal inspired by filth, scum and everything dirty-related” (sic), I’m slightly disappointed at how nice Wastes sounds. Sure, Into the Void of Human Vacuity isn’t a very cheery album title, but this doesn’t sound quite as tortured or as filthy as I would expect. Perhaps that has something to do with classifying it as “fun. doom” when I made a note of it to come back to. While we’re on the subject of names, I don’t think much of the track names by the way… Just naming stuff ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ feels a bit naff even if the 7 sections run together to form a 45 minute totality.

Anyway, at least the musical reckoning of Wastes was right on the button: the French project indeed pedals death metal-tinged funeral doom, though neither the slowest nor most deathly variant. Sole member Laurent Chaulet has quite a hideous scream on him, mostly obscuring the lyrics in a clearly unhappy performance, while gradual riffs pile in around him, sometimes chord by chord and sometimes more in focus. Keyboards and some higher guitar melodies do their part to set atmosphere, clean strings ringing out in the same way as compatriots Monolithe during the third section. These elements can add tension or supply variety to monotonous grooves, though intensity is built by other measures, ably shown by a squalling noise solo near the end of ‘Part 4’ that I would compare to Slayer if Bongripper weren’t playing in the background.

The major positive about Into the Void of Human Vacuity must be that Chaulet keeps things moving nicely, rarely hesitating over any particular idea and winding down one part before moving onto the next. The album thus works as several 6 or 7 minute compositions continuing a basic trend, resulting in ‘Part 6’ being the fast part, ‘Part 3’ being the tense part, and so on. Momentum certainly makes itself felt more than speed in maintaining progress, only the aforementioned ‘Part 6’ breaking into death metal riffing, an idea that grows from the tumescence of its predecessor, as chugging and churning begins to climax around three quarters of the way into the experience. Of course Wastes save the nastiest bits for last, so hearing a sample of a woman saying that she will shit on your face (among other things) may have been expected in the final section, along with greater disparity between crawling and intense moments.

Though I can see nothing soothing about the music that Wastes constructed for the band’s only release so far, Into the Void of Human Vacuity possesses a cathartic feel that encourages listening all the way through. Chaulet handles the rise and fall of each section well, building up the latter half in an ebbing ascent to peak intensity, before expending all the filth at last with the desperate cries of ‘Part 7’. I couldn’t really say that I enjoy that kind of thing (not publicly, anyway), but I appreciate the way in which the album is constructed and get some kicks from the recurring themes that come back, most strongly in the melodies. When I’m feeling filthy, I’ll probably turn to Wastes.