In the vastness that is music, and it’s eons of timeless resemblance of it’s creators that echo across this universe, the spectrum of sound that is brought on reaches deep into our very beings, arising emotions and creatures that delve deep within our personas. With this powerful mantra that music brings, it must have balance of light and dark, both of which collide to enhance that essence that lies within us. Often times we are brought into light, allowing to release ourselves from the grasps of despair, hatching a new version of ourselves. But, let’s turn to the other notion, the one that harnesses the primal being that holds on to us, the one that ravages, hungers, pains, thirsts, and fiends off chaos. The one that raises our demons, and unleashes destruction with no remorse, or better yet, our internal darkness.
There is a man, without a face. He wears a bare skull, teaming with the crimson of blood, tearing from eyes so dark, you’d be lost to look into them. His horns spear into the air, jagged and sharp. Chains rapturing the ground, behind a black, tattered cloak. His disciples follow in familiar cloaks as well, and many other rancid figures assemble with the lot of them. Trotting through a land so brutalized, it very much resembles hell itself. This man created this world on which he rules upon, terrifying, yet, unified. The power in which he weilds is invisible to eye, but piercing to conformity. He is the the darkness, the destroyer, the chaos, our most wicked being, he… is… VOYD.
VOYD has brought on a cataclysm once before in an edition split into two halves, which first currated his presence on this earth. It caused ripples in humanity, and the world of music as we know it. That storm calmed long ago, but his presence never yielded. Moving in great silence, recruiting an army underneath our feet the entire time, he now returns again stronger, stranger, and more enticing than ever. With a shake of time, he now brings us a new chapter into his dark tale, VOYD II. A poetic nightmare broken into four acts, all of which manifesting his character back into existence, protruding a mighty rapture.
ACT I, the conjuring of the king himself, leaving off from much writings we had read upon before, this is the moment his ideal is brought to life. First, the “Maze Of Punishment” extends us into a journey to remind us who exactly he is, and what we are to be extending from this summoning. Six minutes of absolute tension, and dropping us into the many levels of hell in which he visions, or is it freedom? Following that, we are brought into a “Dream Sequence“. This we had relived not long ago, we had scene glimpses of before, a prequel to what VOYD to was, this time we are presented with it fully come to life. Not so much a dream anymore, but a reality set into motion, atonement for our darkest fantasies. Deep synthetic embellishments rip our matter to shreds, recoursing our thoughts to preferred carnage. To end ACT I, the last piece is “Shallow Land Burial“, or some may have known before as “SLB 2021“, the precursor to it all. Coming back to haunt us, raise us from of light fractured lives, beginning to reveal the darkness we encase. This is the very moment we begin to crumble, and let the madness ingest our mental and physical constitution.
ACT II, his concept is now well and alive within us, the time in which we become his character, his puppet. A charming melody takes hold in this intermission, followed with his whispering chants, cradling us into his lullaby. Talk of a “Magic Armour” that holds us tight, commences to shatter with a harmonious weapon, spoken purely through his sound. This external ego of ours is torn from our bodies by this deep punishment we’ve been having to face for so long, making us vulnerable to his calling. There is beauty in darkness, for be are but bare entities swimming in our own fear and lies. Now stripped of our defence, his “Eidolon Hex” is put upon us. Legends have spoken of such curse, never brought to reality until now, we are his victims. Shrouding over our body and mind, the age of the pawn we are, answering forever to his beckoning. The evil has sunk into our psyche, or is it evil? The “Thirst For Revenge” hath overtaken us. We are angered and ready for rampage. Trapped like animals on this planet of false promise and blatant negligence, it is time to repent, it is time for destruction. Let madness ensue, shy no longer away from it, we are one, we are his, we shall make the VOYD whole again, bringing back a world of harmony, in the wholesomeness of what we assumed evil the entire time, but better yet, a new life.
ACT III, our vision is clear, after so much fright, after so much hate and anger, we feel complete again, like a child, innocent, and curious. No longer human, but our own entities, our own gods now. Brought to our feet, we are not done yet, so many things left unturned, so much to be said, to be revitalized, to be built anew. His word takes hold again, a “Laughing Track” plays, harnessing our deepest of mad thoughts. It taunts us, leading to a crushing anthem as we go blind and decimate our surroundings. VOYD’s true overseeing eye has us in full hold now, raining absolute brutality through all those who follow his order. It makes no sense, the laugh continues to “Comprehension Barrier“, suited well in name, for we have no control now. A clicking derives from the laugh, and our strength gains more as we lay waste to all that we had thought we had built, but all for the improper reasons. This is for his, in his name, to build a world of fresh reason, one in which we may all live as one, under one rule. A smell is in the air, of rotting, yet refreshing our breath. This sent contains our raw energy, it comes to us like baked goods, sucking out the air in lungs, pumping in a new form of joy, one that makes us feel rampant. This is a “Demonic Curse“, exercising our hatred and internal evils, purifying our judgmental beings, shrinking us to nothing, but our bare features. There is no difference amongst us, we truly are one of the same cloth, his cloth. Looking to the sky, shapes begin to form, much like the “Rings Of Pluto“. Spelling down a haze the shakes our minds, and rattles our ears, we are beaten down for all that we have done in our many years. A minor tempo that slams our beliefs to the ground, capitalizing our ruler. His voice comes to life in the most raw form it has ever been, the sound adds color to our existence. In his calling, a disciple takes lead by the name of “Kereberot“. It chirps to life, raising all of our dead allies to the ground. All the we have missed, all that we have lost, no longer lies flight, but floats above. Like the ticking of a bomb, the disciple ignites, letting out a roar deafening to the world. A shout so strong, the universe is born new, brought back under the dark wing of VOYD.
ACT IV, a grand organ is played to officiate his birth back to the planet. The earth has been whipped of all superficial ideology, in which he may build his empire on to rule appropriately. Rise the “Valley Of Darkness“, his power shows it’s form beyond any, what we have all been waiting for. The time has come to show us who we are all meant to be, creating as one, a life unknown before, but in balance to complicity. The sound of tormenting hatred shakes the core of the planet, ready to exert it back to it’s primal state, bringing us all back to our original selves, how we were meant to be. Humanity dances in synch to this epic tune of perpetual motion. After the dust settles we see a world of opposites, light is not the same. The “Twilight Reflector” is visible, working with immense magic, terraforming with every hit of guttural vibration. It’s gorgeous in every way possible, majestic views could never be seen in such a way before.
The FINAL ACT, we are cleansed, the world is reborn, we are reborn. His acts upon us were seen in terror before, but we realize he has freed us from ourselves, from the unhealthy destruction we would have inevitably had put on ourselves. We have been given new meaning, new purpose to life. We are anger, we are hate, we are carnage, but we are also love, empathy, rememberance, care, and solitude. Above all though, WE ARE VOYD!
Okay, beyond all the story telling, this album is a masterpiece from start to finish. Extremely honored to have been given such coverage, and tell the story of emotion that could have been potentially envisioned in it. Danny Howland, aka SVDDEN DEATH, aka VOYD, is such a visionary with his music, it has left us, and many others speechless. VOYD II reigns supreme in story telling when it comes to music entirely through instrumental sounds. Completely insane to say the least, VOYD II is a god tier album. Impressed doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of feelings behind this tank of a track list. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, it was a movie to listen to this goliath.
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