Within Nostalgia
Void & Decay

Canadians that seem to have a flair for the nostalgic, it is a duo called Within Nostalgia that just recently gave us their second album Void & Decay. It is a five-track album with a pretty cool artwork, at least artwork that raises interest. It is claimed that the band refuses to be placed in one sub-genre, and that it is a dark release as well. I read: “Void & Decay is a dark album, having a lot to do with the current state of our society. Within Nostalgia put a lot of pain and anger in this album that was inside of them, perhaps subconsciously and through that, they found some strange positive light.” So, what about it then?

Musically they are in the doomy black metal kind of music, not easily placed in a sub-genre but not really that original either. And the production isn’t that great, it is not sub-par but not up to the standards of the best in the genre. The vocals aren’t that amazing either, it lacks power and emotional resonance, I would say that it feels a little bit grey. The variation through the album isn’t that large, it is somewhat compensated by the short playing time, but it still feels a bit like a pretty uneventful release.

And it is not a very exciting album, I think they offer up some nice fresh ideas, but the overall sense is still that it is a pretty dreary release. It is nice and dark but doesn’t offer enough light and depth, as well as hope, to make it work and it becomes more tiresome than good to listen to. You might find it exciting or interesting if you are a fan of the doom and black metal kind of music, especially the dark and atmospheric variety, but I wouldn’t count on it. Even good ideas can turn into something pretty drab.

It could be a decent choice to check out this album if you are into the blacker and doomier metal, otherwise I don’t see that much reason to spend too much time with this release.

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