These are unprecedented times. For years now most of us have had to live under the cosh of austerity or whatever else the people in charge decide to dress it up as this week. All the while having to conform into whatever pseudo-machine like form is necessary to put food on the table, or pay for heating. It is therefore no surprise that bands like Body Void produce records like Atrocity Machine, that are crushingly depressive, that make you feel like there is very little hope left so why not throw yourself into that nascent nihilism that’s been bubbling beneath the surface for the last ten to fifteen years.
This is Body Void’s fourth studio album, and whilst they maintain a doom metal core, they further enhance their sound with layers of caterwauling screams and industrial synth laden depression to make this release even more heavy than any that came before it. The artwork for the album was created by Ethan Lee McCarthy, a long-time collaborator with the band. It is inspired by Tetsuo: The Iron Man, a Japanese film from the late 80’s where a man gradually turns into a machine. This is a perfect choice to accompany the album, it’s red background paints a picture of the blood and suffering that is complicit in the industrialising of the human body and the idolising of productivity.
“This might just be one of the most rage inducing, sadness implanting call-to-arms that has been released in recent years.”
After a short ominous track of feedback and over saturated noise the album immediately drops into a blackened void of doom that sets the tone for the record. ‘Human Greenhouse’, combines tremolo picked black metal style leads with screams and a plodding fifty thousand tonne rhythm, that feels like it could be likened to the human races ponderous trudge towards its own inevitable yet entirely unavoidable demise. The harsh sections of feedback and lead ‘melody’ are as anxiety inducing as the current state of affairs present in both Body Void’s homeland and elsewhere around the globe.
It’s not like Body Void need to try hard to find the overwhelming macabre attitude of the current capitalist hellscape but find it they do. ‘Cop Show’, highlights the way the ruling class pour funding into police forces whilst the education system collapses, but it’s all good, because the ‘Cop Show’, is a ‘24/7 live stream, [where the] victims are you and me.’ The pneumatic press of riffs carries on unimpeded, industrialised doom metal is at it’s finest in a world where humans are played off against each other for a quick fix of extra profit.
Atrocity Machine is an XL serving of some of the heaviest music released this year. No where on the record do they compromise, be it the hellish soundscape, unabashed depressive subject matter or the act of creation in a time where productivity is given more stock than creative expression. This might just be one of the most rage inducing, sadness implanting call-to-arms that has been released in recent years. Beware all ye who enter, this isn’t for the faint hearted but it does reward you with a cathartic experience, even if it is one fraught with new anxieties and melancholy.