Report | DARK ELITE – Anti-Spiritual Void Devotion

            Malevolence reigns over Finland as DARK ELITE unleashes their second full-length phenomenon, and its imposing magnitude strikes instantly in the oblivion of “Forever Dwelling Nothingness,” with blast beats launching havoc alongside a multi-leveled riff barrage. The hostile cosmos is melodically elevated by other constellations rising within the mass, and they possess a dreary allure that draws one deeper into the vacuum on “Alla Tähtien (Under the Stars),” where thunderous and glaring forms compound the malign notes creeping across its expanse. This aura intensifies through a vocal shift from harshness to incorporeal whispers, and the slower pace highlights drumming with intricate designs, which then extends to a section of grand atmospheric energy developed further using sung elements. Those qualities also appear at points during the title track, along with a concurrence of melody and tapped fretwork wreaking torment notably among its eminence, and another intriguing terrain is captured when primeval ambient vibrations open “Mankind is Fucking Disgusting.” These are followed wrathfully with various degrees of cold riffing, including the annihilatory impact of tremolo courses woven throughout, and different melodic shapes effectively drive a dire and impending sense of demise toward full realization.

            The arrangements succumb to gloom on “Crown For the Dying King,” beginning with arpeggiations that deepen around mournful tremolo and melodic formulas, but a somber splendor also unfolds as clean vocals haunt their looming presence. Entrancing strides are noted for amplifying these emanations, and they persist amid the afflictions of “Dead is the World, I Am Death,” where crushing elements resound beneath tormented intervallic patterns. Those harmonies empower a ruinous oration before “This Curse Called Life and Hope” engages a rapid fretted flight through outer regions, and the aural grandeur of some areas there is countered during the darker strikes of others, especially when breaks in speed match bass with a synchronization between percussive intricacy and menacing sweeps. “Mass For the End of the World” displays this rhythmic impact most prominently, with layers of textural interplay maximized in grooves that extend to heavy riff structures, and lead melodies further complicate the amassing toward a fatality attained on “Devoid of Flesh and Spirit.” Its uncreation commences with a marked vocal anguish, and cosmic-noted sequences are distinguished along a path disturbed by multiple disharmonic rays, which culminates in the bleak intoxication of leads heralding a grim destination. The malignity of Anti-Spiritual Void Devotion remains concentrated while infusing enough nuance and variation to keep awareness seized, and it offers a formidable immersion with forces orchestrating our end from behind the physical veil.

Leave a comment