Review by Alex on August 30, 2020.

To come from their debut demo to something this destructive is not a surprise to me at least. 2018's offering was a clear indication of the might Void Rot wielded, it was only a matter of time before that power transcended to a full-length commitment. Here be the date the band is set to plunge this whimpering world into darkness, September 11th, 2020. Of an unholy matrimony between death and doom metal, Descending Pillars collapses with the weight of the universe unto those who dare succumb to the abyssal daze. The ceremony of demolition arrives under the management of Everlasting Spew, an establishment that has overseen some of the most corrupt sects within the sub-currents of metal and having Void Rot under their umbrella, only strengthens their influence within the bowels of the underground.

Stand at the base of a goliath, tilt your head upwards and witness it sway as it prepares to crumble; then hear the crack of fright as its foundation can withstand no-longer the force of the sky. 'Descending Pillars' not only sets the tone of the album with its dreary guitar progressions and crushing drums, but submerges itself into a swamp of atmospheric, trance inducing frequencies that'd tell of a band continuing their devastative path since their split with Atavisma. Power chords, tremolo picking, and moderate waves of reverb, crash against the hypnotized cymbal and snare patterns whilst crushingly dense and cavernous vocals give verbal representation of the doom one is awoken to. Void Rot's hand in decomposition is felt distinctly; their properties emerge conspicuously and are put into demolishing motion on 'Upheaval' that applies a black metal technic to the landscape that adds to the idea of a plummeting fall.

Your astral temple is completely clobbered by 'Liminal Forms' that conducts itself similarly to the past two tracks, therefore creating a cohesive and very much connected musical effect as its dark and dreaded heavy thump unifies the seemingly primitive approach to Void Rot's music; with which they accomplish so much that it cannot go without mention; as a band they sound in control of what is being done; with patience being a key factor in the pacing of Descending Pillars.

And as the motor of this death/doom machine rumbles on, a somnambular hypnosis introduces you to a corrosive form of meditation in an attempt to locate and further devour the splinters of sanctity. The Krypts-like sprawling ambiance, guttural-elasticity and precise accentuations in some guitar sections matched with an overall careful (though linear) rhythmic conductivity, establishes this feeling. Bringing me to the point of Void Rot's music on Descending Pillars; there is nothing present on the record that seems out of place; rather, bulls eye concentration and undivided attention are given to the atmosphere evoked. Thus, it sounds as though the music itself was structured around the atmosphere, rather than have the drumming, riffing and vocal oppression be the center of attention. It translates to pieces such as 'Inversion' and 'Monolith (Descending Pillars Pt. Two)', both of which erect and disassemble monstrous atmospheric passages with authoritarian force.

Descending Pillars is Void Rot's most devastating work to date; cleverly commissioned to activate the processes of astral erosion and putrefaction.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Alain on April 22, 2020.

Ysengrin is a French band founded in Normandy back in 2005. Currently, the band consists of three musicians, being Guido Saint Roch the only founding member of this band. Ysengrin began as a solo project, but Guido has traditionally been accompanied by other two musicians in order to complete the line-up. The current bass player, known as Alrinack and Inkantator Kour, who shares the duties of playing the keys, performing the vocals and other stuff with Guido, are involved in many other underground projects. So, in practice Ysengrin continues to be Guido's personal project.

Ysengrin's sound is usually defined as “hermetic dark metal” and it can hardly be restricted to only one subgenre. The band's peculiar and primitive style flows between the boundaries of doom, death and black metal. Conceptually, the music is strongly influenced by esoteric and occult themes, which play a major role in the forge of Ysengrin's very personal creations. The ambience is dark and suffocating and the production has been traditionally raw, yet very atmospheric. Ysengrin's core sound is clearly represented in the album Réincrudation. This is in fact not a new work, but a compilation of the remastered old demos Archivum MMV-MMX and Alchimëte. Réincrudation portraits the very personal sound of Ysengrin in its purest form. The compositions have a primarily slow pace, very doomish and atmospheric. The first half of the album contain tracks like 'Abstinence', which have a pretty repetitive pace with very simple drums and riffs with a quite raw and crushing tone. The variety only comes in form of interludes, which strengthen the mysterious atmosphere of the whole work. Anyway, the most interesting tracks come at the last part of this compilation. A remarkable example would be 'Antéros', which has more diverse structures. Vocally speaking, the band combines the typically death metal growling vocals with a clean one. The growls are quite primary and remind me the most traditional and underground death metal scene. On the other hand, the clean ones have a distinctive occultist touch, as they sound like a sorcerer invoking a demon. The peak of Réincrudation is undoubtedly the longest and most elaborated track entitled 'Mystéres De L'Artifex'. The production in this track seems to be better balanced and cleaner, yet still rasping. It combines the aforementioned harsh and clean vocals with better structured guitars riffs. The track flows more naturally and it has a more coherent structure, less weird, which could be worse for some people, but it is much better in my opinion. It also contains some interesting keys in the background and even some bells who add a mysterious touch. Experimentation and weirdness don't disappear as Ysengrin still introduces some dissonant guitars riffs which reinforce this gloomy and occult ambience.

Ysengrin's music is in fact not an easy one to digest. Though I must admit that the 65 minutes that this work lasts have been a hard tack for me, there are still some good points to highlight, which save the album for me. When the tracks are better composed and have a more varied touch Ysengrin's occult metal can have some interesting details and remarkable sections as it happens in songs like 'Mystéres De L'artifex', for example. This is obviously a demo compilation, a fact which makes understandable that the band had yet some aspects to polish. Last tracks, as I have mentioned, mark the correct path for the band so it would be interesting to see what Ysengrin can offer in future.

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