by Kurt Orzeck
San Diego-area progressive death-metal marauders VoidCeremony spent two years crafting Abditum, as after having released its predecessor in 2023. But for all intense and porpoises, guitarist/vocalist Wandering Mind has patiently waited 12 years – if not longer – to see his par excellence finally come to fruition. All right, maybe not so patiently. Before solidifying themselves as VoidCeremony in 2013, the band went by the name Antiquity from 2010 to 2012, then as Portalgeist from 2012 to 2013.
Fitting for a music group that clearly suffered at least one mental crisis (let’s be real: They were probably a regular occurrence), Wandering Mind lost trusted comrade after trusted comrade during VoidCeremony’s rocky formation. And yet what he and his relatively new crew released this year, Abditum, achieved essential listening status for genre fans immediately upon its release less than a month ago.
Around this time last year, practically everyone who considered themselves to be a casual metal fan was screaming from the rooftops that Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere was the greatest metal record in recent memory – perhaps of the century, even. This writer did not agree. Yes, its technical prowess was undeniable, but its Achilles’ Heel was the same as with practically every tech-death record: a focus on guitar wizardry so intense that it was impossible for a listener to truly penetrate. Appreciate? Sure. But actually comprehend? Not so much.
Enter Abditum, which closes that gap without compromising MENSA-level mechanical mastery along the way. VoidCeremony pack a previously unthinkable amount of potent, death-defying death metal in the span of fewer than 30 minutes. All the while, the band keeps a collective hand extended in order to indicate – unlike most other tech-death bands – that they want the listener to be part of the experience not get lost as VoidCeremony pull off high-flying acrobatics that would bring the Cirque du Soleil crew to tears.
Guitarist/vocalist Serpent of the Flame logged at least four years with the band before saying “see ya” in 2020. Guitarist/vocalist Hyperborean Apparition – which must look pretty badass on a state ID – notched the same amount of time before waving goodbye last year. Drummer C. Koryn, who played in the project for an impressive six years, checked out in 2023. And even bassist Nexus Traveler said enough was enough after serving a four-year term in the band and walked away from VoidCeremony in 2018.
Indeed, VoidCeremony’s org chart of employees is messy as all hell. But you’d never guess that from the expertly sequenced and coherent Abditum. As with practically every great metal record, interludes and samples sometimes tie together what could be disparate components to the record. But the real glue is the band’s mastery of tone, texture and melody; seamless time changes; and sheer ferocity throughout.
“Despair of Temporal Existence” is an incalculably tight and strong composition that plays footsie with the borderline between metal and prog but decides not to cross it. The technical showboating on “Gnosis of Ambivalence,” “Failure of Ancient Wisdoms,” and “Silence Which Ceases All Minds” soars so high that it enters that atmospheric space where the sky ends and space begins. And “Veracious Duality” closes with a Mustaine-level guitar solo that will cause jaws to hit floors.
It’s almost tempting to not recommend Abditum, because if you hear progressive blackened death metal this good, you’ll be spoiled for life. What could VoidCeremony – or any other band of their ilk – possibly pull off after this?
Eh, fuck it. Life’s too short to miss the chance to listen to a record this good.