Maiar - VOID

     Being friends with people that make awesome music definitely has it's perks. A number of years ago, a now defunct band called Dead Gods played in my basement and I instantly became friends with them. Four of the five members went on to form Maiar. Over the course of the past few years, guitarist Keith had kept be posted with regular updates on the band's recordings which would eventually become VOID. I knew this album was going to eventually come out. I just didn't know when. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I got a link to the album from Keith yesterday, telling me that the album was available for pre-order and would be released this Friday.
     VOID, as a complete body of work, is greater than the sum of it's parts. Not to say that each song doesn't stand out in it's own excellence, however this album begs to be listened to as one whole 25 minute long Post Doom Metal masterpiece.
     Starting things off we get Cataclysm (Slow Motion Perception). This song starts with a swell of feedback and then brings the fucking heavy. Droning Doom riffs cover most of the ground here and man, do they cover it with a blanket of warm deathly fuzz and thundering drums.
     Next up, we've got The Empty Spark (Depressive Relapse), which blends seamlessly from the first track. This song has a completely different feel to it, borrowing more from clean guitar driven Post Rock. Don't let the prettiness of this track fool you though, as it certainly opens up to much heavier riffs as the song progresses.
     Rounding out the album is Rising Black Sun (Numbness and Palpitations), which in my opinion is the focal point of this record. This track serves as a culmination off the previous two songs, bringing back themes and moods as if to say "You thought you heard it all? Fuck you. You haven't heard the half of it.". Equal parts heavy and beautiful all at once, Rising Black Sun sums up VOID in it's entirety.
     It's super hard for me to pick a standout track on this record. In order to be truly appreciated for what it is, you really need to listen to it from start to finish. If this was intended to be a concept album about depression and despair, I'm hearing it loud and clear.
     Thanks again to Keith for giving me an early listen to the album. Make sure you check out the bancamp link below to hear the first track and pre-order the album so you can listen to it in it's glorious entirety when it is released on Friday.

-Rybo