Dead Void – Cranial Devastation
Release Date: 5th June 2026
Label: Dark Descent Records / Me Saco Un Ojo
Bandcamp
Genre: Death/Doom Metal
FFO: Undergang, Chaotian, Phrenelith.
Review By: Aeons Burning
Denmark has quite the duality in its extreme metal scenes. The black metal side of Denmark (Afksy, Sunken, Orm, etc) is quite post-inspired and atmospheric while the death metal side is as disgusting as possible. Hell, Kill-Town Deathfest is held in Copenhagen almost every year, barring 2024 when it was held in London and I got to go, which was the most incredible trip of my life. Dead Void, if you couldn’t tell from the name is firmly rooted in the death metal side, and while it isn’t as outright gross as a band such as Undergang or Sewer Haul, they bring the riffs in droves, and overall Cranial Devastation is a more polished, higher-energy record than their debut Volatile Forms.
Dead Void specialize in crafting monolithic sounding lumbering riffs that waste no time in crushing you to a fine paste. Death doom can be a mixed bag of a niche subgenre, but Dead Void do a fantastic job at reminding the listener why slow, massive riffs can still bludgeon just as well as their faster counterparts in Undergang or Phrenelith. Where Volatile Forms was exclusively slow, Cranial Devastation amps up the speed a little bit and is a not-so-subtle reminder that the Danish death metal scene is one of the strongest out there. The title track as well as Jeg kan ikke flygte fra min selv are my favorites, and showcase the duality of what Dead Void does in their music: combining the gross aura of Danish death metal with the pulping riffs of fat-sounding death doom.
Dead Void did a great job at trimming their album length down for Cranial Devastation, and is deceptively short at 36 minutes, when most death doom albums clock in at over 40. Most importantly, this is a fun record that is just another notch in Denmark’s many-feathered cap, and cements Dead Void as yet another band from this tiny country to watch, because I can’t think of many other countries aside from Chile or Iceland that have nearly the hit rate as bands from Denmark do. It also helps that Dead Void have improved their songwriting from Volatile Forms, making them a lot more memorable and addictive. It may not crack any lists, but Cranial Devastation rocks, and you’d do well to listen.
(3.5 / 5)
